The Serpent of Durmstrang
by nigelforest
Summary: Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, left England with his Godfather after the death of his parents. Living in Switzerland, educated at Durmstrang, and best friends with Viktor Krum, his life seemed to be perfect until his past finally caught up to him. Now he must face, not only the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but also the darkness that looms over the Wizarding world.
1. Chapter 1

**The Serpent of Durmstrang**

A/N: This is a rewrite of the Dragon of Durmstrang, where mistakes were made and are going to be corrected, while the story and writing will be improved. This is also my NaNoWriMo prep story, so all reviews are appreciated.

 **Chapter One**

The winds billowed against the slight-framed, bespectacled young man as he stared into the open sea. The crisp early morning breeze kissed Harry's cheek, and caressed his body, leaving him with a rosy-tinged. His eyes closed, the last Potter could only breathe in and take the onslaught, calming himself in the process.

This was his last year at Durmstrang, his final year until he starts paving his way into the Wizarding world. At a young age, his godfather, Sirius Black, had constantly reminded him of the burdens his lightning-shaped scar carried in the world. Where his very name was spoken in admiration by most, and cursed by few. It was the reason why he was taken away by Sirius in the first place, leaving behind Magical Britain in the hopes of a normal childhood far away.

In the end, Sirius Black landed himself in Switzerland, and used a modest apartment owned by the Blacks as their home away from home. Looking back, Harry could not blame Sirius' actions, and while they had let Peter Pettigrew escape, Harry knew that his godfather and honourary uncle Remus will not rest until they have skewered the rat for his betrayal. For now, Sirius and Remus were focused on grooming Harry to be the next Potter of Potters, and to take his inheritance back in Britain.

This summer was supposed to be his crash course into the ins-and-outs of Wizarding Britain, and what it meant to take his place as Lord Potter. Sirius had been very adamant about teaching him the common courtesies of the social elite. Once heir, now Lord Black himself, these lessons were drilled into Sirius the moment he was born, and made him the most suitable to tutor him in that regard. Remus, however, tackled Harry's continuing education, mostly dueling and transfiguration. Both men were committed to Harry's well-being, and he was eternally grateful for them.

The sound of incoming footsteps shook Harry from his reverie. He could hear a slight shuffle, and quickly, on instinct, spun around and flicked his wand to create a _Protego_ shield. Just in time as a huge fountain of water splashed against the hastily erected shield.

"Good, your reflexes are getting better."

"All thanks to you, Remus," Harry smiled, tucking his wand back into this wrist holster.

Remus shook his head, before taking a few steps and joining Harry on the balcony. Their current safehouse was located somewhere in the coast of Italian Peninsula, and was heavily warded, owing to the paranoia of the Blacks. It became a refuge every summer once Harry started his Durmstrang education, and was perfect for the dueling and other spell training he underwent during the holidays.

Turning towards Harry, Remus couldn't help himself but smile proudly. James and Lily's son had grown to be a good man, and a very talented wizard. He himself was very impressed by the progress Harry had made once he started learning about magic, with Transfiguration as his most endeared subject. Following in James' footsteps, Harry was unnaturally talented in the art of Transfiguration, and facilitated in his Animagus training very well during his fifth year at Durmstrang. However, his studious nature could only be attributed to his mother, Lily Potter.

A long silence ensued, and was broken by Harry rubbing his scar with a wince.

Remus' face turned dark, "The nightmares again?"

Nodding, Harry sighed, "Yeah. They're becoming more vivid, and-"

"Harry, please tell me you've been practicing Occlumency? You know it's the only way we can stop these visions from visiting you every night."

"I have tried, and I have erected mental barriers every single night. But sometimes…"

Remus saw the hesitation, and urged, "We need to know what's happening, Harry, so we can better protect you."

Harry sighed, shaking his head as if clearing some mental cobwebs, before starting, "Sometimes, the dreams, visions, or whatever it is, just punches through my shields. Like paper. I can't do anything about it at all, no matter how much I build my defences," taking a deep breath, Harry continued, "It scary, Remus."

The werewolf's eyebrows knit together after that spiel. There was nothing in his research about memory and dreams that could do what Harry is describing. Occlumency was supposed to block out even the worst of the worst, as long as the shield is strong, and Harry was no slouch. Yet, it seems as though these dreams are slicing through Harry's most powerful mental shield, something that neither Sirius nor Remus can do with their Legilimency at this stage of Harry's training.

The other option that Remus, Sirius and Harry could do was to reach out to Albus Dumbledore. The old man had been a prime mover, at least in the early years of Harry's life, in trying to get the boy-who-lived back into the arms of Magical Britain. But as the years passed, Dumbledore had been increasingly silent, as though giving up on the prospect. The old man was a treasure trove of knowledge, however, and could be a valuable ally.

"We might need to consult another person for this case, Harry," a voice started from behind the two.

Harry smiled slightly as he glanced behind him, "Sirius, good to see you're finally awake."

"Well, I was in the arms of two _very_ vivacious Italian witches last night, so you can't blame this old dog for sleeping in."

"Oh? And are they still in your bed?" Harry asked, shaking his head at the antics of his self-proclaimed _dog-_ father.

"As we speak. I made sure to put a silencing spell, of course."

Remus nodded, then turned towards Sirius, his eyes hardening, "Do you think we should-"

Sirius held up his hand, "Go to Albus? That's probably the best option we have now. And with everything going on...it can't be a coincidence, can it?"

"It never is," Remus sighed, "So, when should we do it?"

Harry watched the back-and-forth of the two best friends, and decided to interject, "You know, with the Tri-Wizard Tournament on the horizon, I'll be at Hogwarts come October anyways."

"It all seems so...no matter," Sirius scratched his stubble, as he glanced at Remus, "I suppose you should send a letter and arrange a meeting with Harry and Albus once he arrives at Hogwarts."

Remus nodded, "Right, but that's for later. Aren't we supposed to be getting ready for the international portkey to your best friend's game, Harry?"

"Why, yes. And as you both can see, I'm all dressed-up and ready!" Harry exclaimed, showing the pair that he was indeed already in dress-robes, with a red and gold trim.

"Fuck! How long do we have?!" Sirius exclaimed, already half-way to his bedroom.

Remus chuckled, also heading back into his room, "Ten minutes. The portkey is on the dining table, so you better hurry."

"Shit!"

Harry laughed, and only shook his head at the two. He continued watching the sunrise, already imagining what his year would bring. It won't be a regular one in Durmstrang, and a part of him was glad. He had always wanted to see Hogwarts, where both his parents went to. A part of him wished he had attended Hogwarts instead of Durmstrang, and another part was happy he didn't. From what Sirius and Remus had described, Hogwarts seemed to not advocate for further studies in magic, sticking to strict curriculum every year tailored for the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s.

With a last mental wave of goodbye to the sunrise, Harry made his way back to the dining area, which was sparsely decorated for a Black-owned house. Sirius made sure to destroy any evidence of his dark-leaning family, and remodel it into one that resembled a regular, if not middle-to-high class, dining room.

In the middle of the rich-mahogany dining table was a dog's chew toy. Harry had to chuckle at the item, and was sure that the person who issued the portkey was mostly likely a woman whom Sirius had scorned. Even in Italy, Sirius Black was notorious for his escapades with the fairer sex.

Remus soon followed Harry, and lastly Sirius who seemed to still be half-asleep, but well-dressed.

"What did you do to the women?" Harry had to ask, dreading the answer.

"I left them a note, and cast a compulsion charm for them to immediately leave once they wake up."

Remus shook his head, while Harry only prayed that the women were not did not hold a grudge. There was no fear for a robbery, or any other criminal behaviour from the women simply because the Black's ward prevented any such behaviour. By prevent, the Black's meant punish severely.

"Take hold!"

Harry quickly responded, and placed a hand over one end of the chew toy. And with a _whoosh_ , they were whisked away, and deposited just as instantly as they disappeared onto a green pasture.

Shaking his head slightly, Harry turned towards a man dressed in what seemed to be a bonnet made in the nineteenth century for women, and a garish-pink nightgown. It took every for Harry not to laugh at the stumbling man, while Remus kept a straight-face with a slight upturned lip, and Sirius just full-blown laughing.

The man huffed as he finally arrived to meet the three, huffing three times to catch his breath, before asking, "Italian portkey, I'm assuming?"

Sirius nodded, as Remus showed their identification to the man. His eyes barely glanced at Remus' identification papers, but immediately took a step back when he saw Sirius', and eyes-bulging when he finally came upon Harry's.

"Harry Potter? The one with the-" the man pointed to his forehead, and traced a lightning bolt.

"Yes, Harry Potter. Now, are you done gawking, sir, or are you going to hold us up for a few hours longer?" Sirius replied snidely, already not liking this Ministry official.

The man stuttered, "Uhm, sorry, Lord Black." Giving back the papers to Remus, he quickly pointed towards the hilltop, "Just yonder, milord."

Giving a quick nod, the three took a quick gait towards the crest of the hill. It only took a few seconds, but the view held them up a bit longer.

Just across from the small hill was a seemingly endless valley filled with different kinds of tents. From tall, to short, to very stout, and tower-like structures, the tents dominated the view, and was only overshadowed by the massive Quidditch pitch that stood in the middle of everything.

It was just barely after dawn, yet throngs of people seemed to already be up and milling about. The smell of breakfast wafted through the air, and the noise only barely hinted at the moment. Harry was sure it would be much louder as the day progressed.

Sirius smirked, and quickly bounded off, shouting back, "I'll meet you two at the pitch later! I've got some business with…"

Harry did not hear the end of the sentence, as Sirius seemed to already be past the first few rows of tents. Remus sighed, and turned to face Harry, "I'll make sure he doesn't get into trouble. You go ahead and see if you can find any of your schoolmates. We'll meet you at the entrance of the pitch an hour before the game starts."

Harry nodded, and watched as Remus jogged to try and catch-up to Sirius. Chuckling to himself, Harry took his leave and started towards the tents as well. He was sure that some of his friends were here, if their bragging about watching the game was an indication. He himself got three tickets from Viktor, with an oath that he will watch his best friend's most important game in his professional career.

From what he could see earlier, the camp was divided into two sections. Irish supporters, and Bulgarian supporters. Quickly, he made sure not to show anyone on this side of the camp the Krum badge that was pinned to his chest, and tried his best to cross into the Bulgarian-friendly side.

However, before he could take a quick shortcut in between two tents, he was stopped by a gaggle of redheads chattering quite loudly about one of theirs' love for Krum. Harry shook his head at the silliness of what seemed to be twins, and quickly sidestepped the group to continue his trek.

Dodging a few more early-risers, Harry finally arrived at the area where the tents seemed to be saturated with the Bulgarian colours. Smiling at a little kid who seemed to be riding his first broom, with her mother keeping a close eye, he started looking around for any sign of his friends.

Rounding a corner, he was still preoccupied looking around for his friends that he didn't see another person rounding the corner, and was immediately knocked to the ground, with an added weight on top of him.

"Damn, that hurt," Harry groaned, before opening his eyes and gazing into the most vivid cerulean-blue eyes.

He snapped himself out of staring, and realized just how compromised their position was. She, he was sure because of the full mounds resting on his own chest, ended up straddling him. And it seems that in the collision, he had held onto her hips for grip. His face immediately turned a reddish-tinge, before he was assaulted by a strong presence. His face laxed, as he finally stared at the girl's face. She was by-far the most beautiful girl he had laid eyes on. With her already mystical eyes, her long blonde hair that fell down her shoulders and tickling his cheek slightly, the heart-shaped face, and the most enticing pink-tinged lips, he was drawn into her visage.

So drawn that his Occlumency shields immediately acted up. Quickly realizing what was happening, Harry slammed down his Occlumency shield, immediately ending the allure of the Veela that was on top of him.

The Veela, he assumed quickly from the strong allure he had experienced, was blushing hard as well, before sputtering, _"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking, and my allure just-"_

" _No worries. We were both not looking, and I was caught unaware by your allure. My Occlumency shield should be enough to stop it from affecting me,"_ Harry smiled slightly, trying to calm the apologetic girl.

" _You speak French?"_ The girl seemed genuinely surprised.

" _Yes, it's a required language for Durmstrang, since we cater to more than a handful of French nationals."_

" _Oh! I mistook you for an Englishman."_

" _I am English by birth, but I was raised abroad,"_ Harry replied, but suddenly realized their current predicament, _"Uhm, we might need to get up…"_

The girl turned even more crimson, before quickly getting up and dusting herself. Harry immediately missed the warmth their bodies shared, but squashed the feeling down as he got up as well. Giving himself a little dust-off, Harry turned towards the girl once more and held his hand out for a handshake, _"Harry Potter, Harry to my friends."_

The girl smiled, and took his hand, _"Fleur Delacour, Fleur to my friends."_

They both chuckled at that, before the girl yelped, _"Oh no! I need to go back to my tent. I left my family for an early stroll, and they will be worried if I don't arrive back in time!"_

Fleur quickly rounded and was about to leave, before turning back slightly and smiling brightly at Harry, _"I hope to see you around, Harry."_

" _I'll see you around, Fleur."_

And with that, Fleur quickly bounded towards the general direction of her tent, while Harry watched her with a small smile on his face. He was knocked out of his reverie by a poke on his back. Turning around, he couldn't hold his smirk as he saw a very disheveled Aleksander, who was never a morning person, yawning loudly at him.

"I was looking all over for your tent," Harry started, waiting for the Petrov heir to finish his long yawn.

Aleksander looked at Harry, before smirking slightly, "I saw that. You and that Veela. Wait until everyone hears about it!"

Harry shook his head, "As if anyone would believe you."

"Oh yes they would! We were wondering if you were gay or something after you declined Romanova asking you out!"

"You know, if you all like her ass that much, why don't you guys just ask her out?"

"What?!" Aleksander exclaimed, shaking head, "Not on your life, Potter. She would skin us alive...although I'm sure some of us would enjoy even that…"

"Fucking perverts," Harry sighed, following Aleksander as he slowly trudged towards the direction of his tent.

Aleksander led Harry towards a tower-like structure, but stopped him just as he was about to cross the small knee-height gate, "Seriously, Harry. Romanova is inside, and I don't want any funny business. She still isn't happy with you, you know."

Harry shook his head, "Fine, but she better behave. I still don't know why she took it so hard. I have told her since third year that I'm not interested!"

"She was hoping. Praying, really. She was in love with you, Harry. Everyone could see it. And you know what? I think she still is," Aleksander started, before holding his hand up to stop Harry from interrupting him, "But frankly, you also need to stop being so fucking nice! Everyone is so head over heels that good boy facade you have...it's making it hard for the rest of us guys to compete!"

Harry chuckled, before patting his friend on the shoulder, "There there, start with saying please and thank you. Little steps, you know?"

"Fuck you, Potter!"

"Fuck you too, Petrov!"

Both wizards shared a laugh, before heading into the tent. Harry had to steel himself, the last time he saw Kassandra Romanova was when she had tried asking Harry out, and subsequently his rejection to the invitation. She had not been happy, and he had to be careful on what he says in front of the girl.

As they both stepped into the tent, Aleksander immediately shouted, "Guess who I found with a Veela this morning? Harry _fucking_ Potter!"

"Fuck."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Serpent of Durmstrang**

A/N: This is a rewrite of the Dragon of Durmstrang, where mistakes were made and are going to be corrected, while the story and writing will be improved. This is also my NaNoWriMo prep story, so all reviews are appreciated.

 **Chapter Two**

The Quidditch game was more than what they had hoped for. The speed of the new Firebolt series was put to the test, and players' skill were pushed to their limits. In the end, the better team won, despite what he Bulgarian supporters would say. While the Bulgarians had the best seeker in the world, Viktor Krum, the Irishmen had a better and more seasoned team. In fact, most of the wins until this point of the tournament was because of Viktor Krum catching the snitch before the opposing team could outscore the Bulgarians. Viktor would deny this allegation in public, of course, but would constantly rant at Harry about the ineptitude of his teammates.

Harry watched his friend fly outstandingly, and in the end, had to cheer and groan at the same time as Viktor caught the snitch but still losing the game. He was grateful, however, that Viktor had given him his own box seats. While he enjoyed the company of his friends, Harry was not too keen sharing same row seats with Romanova. She had been quite irate at Aleksander's outburst that morning, and even more at Harry for god knows what. Aleksander found it quite funny, however, and continued his crusade against Harry as he recounted the tale of the _Veela and her Hero,_ and Aleksander had dubbed the story.

Shaking his head at the memory, Harry sighed at the current situation of his friendships. Aleksander, and Viktor were his best friends, and both trusted each other with their lives. Kassandra seems to be quite vexed with him, while Alanna was still the same old happy-go-lucky girl. Between the five of them, they were quite literally the top students in Durmstrang, with Kassandra leading the pack grade-wise.

Taking a quick step down the long winding staircase, Sirius prodded Harry, "Hurry up, pup! We've got some celebrations to go to!"

"Celebrations? Our team lost, Sirius," Harry glanced back at his godfather with a deadpan stare.

Sirius chuckled, "Duh! But the Irish won, and you're looking at an Irish fan as of this moment!"

"Don't we have a portkey to catch back home?" Remus asked tiredly, his face already showing the signs of the coming full moon.

Sirius shook his head, before pointing towards the row of tents that housed the Irish supporters, "Not tonight! Tonight, Moony ol' buddy, we'll be prowling the Irish seas searching for _booty_!"

Harry had to chuckle at that, while Remus shook his head, not sure what to do at this point. When Sirius planned something out for the last two Marauders, there was no going back. Sirius laughed out loud as they took their final steps down the staircase which led to the camping grounds.

Over the loud chattering, Remus was able to quickly shout, "Stay with your friends tonight, Harry! We'll send a patronus tomorrow, or if anything comes up!"

Giving Remus a thumbs up, he saw the man quickly running after a skipping Sirius. He had always felt bad for his werewolf uncle, being the anchor that Sirius depended on after James' death, and therefore a glorified caretaker. Yet, Harry knew that this was how Remus Lupin worked, and despite everything, Remus Lupin was a good man who was always there for his friends. And to be fair, Sirius once told Harry that he liked dragging Remus around or else the man would hole himself up and out of the known world.

The trek back to Aleksander's tent was more like a death march. With the amount of people pouring out of the Quidditch pitch, it was hard to even maneuver and break off from the masses. In fact, trying to find the right tent would have been impossible without the Point Me charm. However, as he was swept up by the crowd, he could start making the silhouettes of the tents with Bulgarian colours. And within a few minutes, he was finally planted onto the small lawn that the tower-like tent had in front of it.

Harry immediately detected silencing charms around the tent, especially since he could not longer hear the loud crowd that was still pouring through the pathway. Nothing prepared him for the loud blast of sound that hit him as he pulled open the tent flaps.

"HARRY! YOU MADE IT!"

Looking around, he could see a very annoyed looking Kassandra on a love seat with Alanna, who seemed to have been drinking with the two other occupants of the room. First was Aleksander, already halfway drunk at this point, especially with his constant shouting, and second was Viktor Krum, still in his Bulgarian uniform, and looking like a truck had hit him...twice.

"Viktor, it was a good game," Harry smirked at the Bulgarian superstar, who only shook his head and sighed, "Too bad you didn't win."

"Really? Not at all surprised as to how I got here?"

Harry shrugged, "I'm sure you smuggled yourself here using the bodyguards they hired for you. How much did you bribe them?"

"Enough to keep them away for the rest of the night," Viktor smirked, "I'm not going to waste my time listening to the complaints of my teammates tonight, not when they performed poorly, as expected."

Everyone in the room could only shake their heads. It was not a surprise any more that Viktor cared less for the win, and more for the catching of the snitch. While a team is always judged by its performance, a seeker is ranked in skill based off of number of snitch caught. In the end, Viktor catching the snitch might have caused their team's loss, but it made him a much better catch for any team that might be scouting. In fact, Viktor's record for snitch-caught is at an all-time high this season, guaranteeing him a spot in almost any team that's scouting.

"Come in, come in! Harry, grab a drink!" Aleksander boisterously dragged Harry into the tent, making sure to pass a glass filled with Firewhiskey to him, and taking a huge gulped of his own.

Harry could only shake his head, and nodded politely at Kassandra and Alanna. Alanna waved back cheerfully, while Kassandra only nodded back stiffly. Harry could feel the tension in the air between him and Kassandra, but tried to ignore it in favour of sitting back onto one of the stools and facing Alanna.

"So, what's new with you, Alanna?"

The French witch glanced at Viktor, before shaking her head. Harry took the gesture as both her and Viktor breaking up, most likely mutually with a side of regret from Viktor. He would talk to the Bulgarian about that later, just to make sure he's doing well.

"Well, summer has been hot as usual in Southern France," Alanna started, before smirking, "and the nude beaches are still full at this time of the year."

"NUDE BEACH! NUDE BEACH!" Aleksander roared, taking another shot of Firewhiskey.

At this point, Viktor snatched the bottle from Aleksander's hands and placed it firmly beside him. Aleksander looked to be ready to protest, but a stinging hex from Kassandra stopped him.

"Fucking party-poopers," Aleksander grumbled, before stumbling towards his bedroom.

Viktor shook his head, placing the bottle back onto the coffee table in the middle of the room. Aleksander could be a pain when drunk, and he was often drunk. Usually it was because of the constant parties he threw during the school year within their dorm, but recently, it's been more and more personal.

"Has anybody heard from his father?" Viktor asked, looking quite pensieve.

Kassandra shook her head, expectantly looking at both Alanna and Harry. Harry shook his head as well, while Alanna spoke up slowly, "I'm not supposed to share this information, but my father was contacted by the Romanian authorities about an investigation."

"France? They think his father disappeared in France of all places?"Kassandra perked up.

Alanna shook her head, "They can't find a trace or hair of the man in Romania, and it seems he had business in France."

"But he didn't disappear on his own accord, we all know that. The man left everything behind," Kassandra followed up, her eyebrows knit together in concentration, "smells more like foul play to me."

Viktor slammed his fist on the table he was leaning on, "It doesn't matter. They're not investigating foul play because they don't want to. It reminds them too much of Grindelwald's reign of terror, when people would just go missing…"

"But it's just an isolated case, isn't it?"

"No, Alanna, it's happening across Europe," Harry finally spoke up, "People, both important and insignificant, are disappearing in broad daylight."

"Harry's right, my father works closely with the Ministry, and apparently it's making people in high places concerned," Viktor continued, his eyes darkening as he remembered the stories his parents told him of Grindelwald, and even Lord Voldemort's reign. Both left a scar too deep to heal in just a generation.

Silence reigned, only disturbed by the snoring that came from Aleksander's bedroom. The four remaining friends could only sink back into their thoughts about the whole situation. Everyone in Durmstrang knew about the Petrov family, and their influence within Romania and Bulgaria. The sudden disappearance of the family' patriarch created a power vacuum amongst the purebloods, but most importantly, it created a sense of foreboding for the rest of Europe. If a powerful and influential man such as the Petrov patriarch could just be upped and kidnapped, how would the rest of them fare?

Standing up, Kassandra coughed to grab the attention of everyone else in the cozy room, "Well, it's been an exciting night. I think Alanna and I should head to bed." Pointedly looking at Alanna, who only nodded solemnly, her mind still re-running their previous conversation.

Viktor and Harry nodded, and were about to retire themselves, when a loud explosion reverberated through the tent, making all of the occupants stumble just a little from the shock wave that followed.

Eyes darting quickly, Harry's blood ran cold, already dreading the situation. He could see Viktor already had his wand out, while Kassandra and Alanna were quickly taking their out as well. Harry's eyes hardened, before taking a quick step to open the tent flaps for a quick peek of the situation.

Kassandra, Alanna, and Viktor were behind him within seconds, their wands at the ready. Looking out, Harry could see people screaming and running away from a fiery blaze that seemed to have originated somewhere in the direction of the Irish supporter tents. His eyes widened, realizing both Sirius and Remus were in that general direction. But before his own panic set in, he quickly calmed himself down. It would do no one a favour if he panicked. Besides, Remus and Sirius could take care of themselves.

"What's happening?" Viktor asked, his voice sharp as steel.

Harry looked back, and quickly replied, "We need to get out of here. There's trouble brewing at the Irish side, and everyone's in panic."

Kassandra nodded, "Portkey's nor apparition won't work here. We need to clear the campgrounds."

"The woods," Viktor concluded, "Kassandra, take Alanna and go! Harry and I will take care of Aleksander."

Kassandra and Alanna nodded, before sprinting out of the tent. Harry watched them both leave, his mind already dreading having to drag their drunkard friend, but they couldn't leave him.

"I'll grab Aleksander, stay here and keep an eye out," Viktor grunted, taking quick strides into the young man's room.

Harry nodded, already peeking out of the tent once more. He could see that the crowd had not thinned, and in fact, seemed to be more panicked than ever. From behind him, he could hear Aleksander's protests, and finally a strong smack. Harry had to stifle a chuckle, Viktor must've knocked the young man out, to make it easier carrying him.

True to his prediction, Viktor came out of the room with Aleksander carried over his shoulder.

"Featherweight charm?"

Viktor nodded, "He wasn't cooperative."

"Not surprised,"Harry shrugged, "Shall we?"

"Lead the way."

Harry nodded, "Keep close, the crowd's much thicker now than earlier."

On the count of three, the two Durmstrang students quickly left the tent, and merged into the streaming crowd. Harry had to push his way through the hysterically screaming throngs of people, while Viktor slipped through the gaps made by Harry.

Chancing a glance back, Harry could see an outline of black-robed witches and wizards levitating a family over their heads. From the silver masks, Harry was immediately assaulted by the descriptions he had heard about Voldemort's followers, and couldn't help himself but growl in anger.

Viktor caught up with the Potter heir and shouted, "What's the hold-up, Potter! Keep moving!"

"Death Eaters," Harry growled.

"Keep going! Control yourself, Potter!"

Harry snatched his gaze away from the silver masked group, and shook his head in frustration. He had wanted desperately to make those pond scum pay for everything they've done to him, his family, and everyone else's for that matter. Taking a glance back at his friends, both conscious and unconscious, he cannot risk it. Not when these two depended on him for their safety.

Nodding stiffly, they continued their way, and in a few moments, finally made it into the treeline. Harry gestured for Viktor to go ahead, bringing up the rear this time with wand at the ready.

As they cleared the small gap that separated the campgrounds with the treeline, they heard a shrill scream that pierced the air. Harry immediately had his wand at the ready, and trained towards the eastern portion of the forest. At this point, most of the campers who cleared the campgrounds are apparating at a fast pace, and those with portkeys activating them as soon as they can. Nobody seemed to be taking notice as another scream resounded, before being muffled.

Viktor eyed Harry, already dreading what would happen next, "Don't be a _fucking_ hero, Harry. Let's get out of here."

"Nobody's helping Viktor."

Harry stared hard at the direction where the scream originated from. His friends called it his saving-people-thing, but he just cannot leave someone behind when he himself can help it. And those screams were filled with fear, causing Harry's skin to crawl. If he can help, he had to, it was only the right thing to do.

"Fine, just come back to us," Viktor sighed, already knowing that nothing could prevent Harry from helping someone if he can help them. It was a trait that endeared him to a lot of his peers, and instructors at Durmstrang.

With a nod, Harry took off. With a quick swish, Prongs materialized wispily beside him. His patronus ran alongside himself, while Harry gave quick instructions, "Find Sirius and Remus, lead them where I'm going. Tell them them it's urgent."

A flick of his wand later, his patronus bounded off into the distance. Hopefully, Sirius and Remus were both sober enough to quickly get to him in time for help. While Harry had training in combat, he had never used it outside of the dueling ring. In a real life battle, Harry was unsure on how well he'd fare.

Sprinting into the forest, he finally found the source of the screams. A blonde haired woman was cowering, with a smaller version of the said woman clinging tightly onto her waist. They were both backed up onto a large oak tree. The woman was wandless, and was trying her best to shield the smaller figure from the three silver-masked men, Death Eaters, Harry quickly surmised.

The area immediately around the group was saturated with magic, and Harry could sense wards placed around the perimeter preventing portkeys and apparition. These men specifically targeted these two women, even so far as preparing these wards to prevent escape.

Reacting quickly, Harry quickly transfigured some of the pebbles and twigs on the forest floor into snakes, and sent them towards the Death Eaters. While Harry could fight with direct spell combat, his talent always was transfiguration. And in any fight, as Remus taught him, he had to use his strengths to his advantage.

The three Death Eaters cursed loudly, as they started fighting against the multiple vipers that were trying to take a chunk out of them. While that was all happening, Harry quickly Summoned a large boulder from beside the women, and transfigured it into a huge aegis, and effectively placed it around the blonde-haired women, cutting off any more advances that the Death Eaters could make against the two.

"There!"

With a quick dodge roll, Harry barely escaped a black-tinged curse that was sent his way. With a flick of his wand, the fallen leaves around him were transfigured into a handful of hummingbirds, which effectively caught the curses sent his way. It created a small blanket around him, as he quickly assessed the situation.

"It's a kid! This one is mine, Malfoy. He needs to pay for getting in between us and our _entertainment_ tonight!" One of them exclaimed, although his stumbling form, and horrible aim told Harry that the man was likely very drunk.

The other two chuckled darkly, as they all sent more spells his way. With a wave of his wand, Harry transfigured more vipers from the sticks and stones on the forest floor, and sent them towards the Death Eaters. All the while, having to dodge some of the spells sent his way. His hummingbirds did well to catch some of the spells as well.

Looking up, Harry saw a few low-lying branches, and quickly flicked his wand and transfigured the branches into anacondas, that started to wrap around two of the Death Eaters, while the third was on the defensive against the vipers that were snapping at him.

"This little _arsehole_! I'm going to gut him when I get my hands on him!" The one fighting the vipers roared loudly, as his companions were struggling from the boa constrictor squeezing the life out of them.

"McNair! Cut us loose, you idiot!"

With a quick _Diffindo_ , both Death Eaters were once again free. But the distraction was enough time for Harry to reach the two ladies behind his aegis. As he slid beside the two, he could recognize the older lady.

"Fleur?" Harry asked, peering at the cerulean-blue eyes that were tear-streaked.

"Harry," a relieved Fleur seemed to let out a long held-in breath. She stared into his emerald-green eyes, and couldn't help but be relieved by his presence.

Just as Harry was about to ask what had happened, his aegis was struck violently by spell-fire. Hitting the shield like a gong, Harry quickly ducked down and animated the roots of the nearby tree to start tangling the legs of their attackers.

" _Fuck_ this!" One of the men exclaimed, and before Harry could do anything, there was a flash of fire that spread around the forest floor, immediately ending any attempts by Harry to incapacitate the men.

"What the hell do you you are doing?!" One of the others roared loudly, clearly not happy with the actions of the one who cast the area-wide _Incendio._

"The kid was using transfiguration. This way he won't' have anything to transfigure!"

"You dumb _shit_! You just alerted the authorities to our location! Do you think that flash of fire isn't going to catch unwanted attention?"

Before anyone could reply, and just as Harry was about to start casting stunners at the three Death Eaters, the sky was illuminated by a sickly green light. Looking up, Harry could make out a symbol: a skull with a serpent coming out of the mouth. A cold chill ran down his spine, and his grip on his wand tightened. He knew that symbol, it was sketched into his memory after watching memories of Sirius and Remus fighting Death Eaters. The symbol struck fear into the hearts of many, and glee into a few.

Three hurried pops later, Harry immediately felt the anti-apparition wards go down, as well as any other wards in place. With a quick sigh, Harry transfigured the large aegis back into its original state was a boulder, before leaning on the tree trunk. The night had been stressful enough without the three Death Eaters, and this fight did take a toll on Harry's own reserves. The massive amount of transfiguration he had done depleted his magical core to less than a fourth of its strength, but the adrenaline rush had kept him going.

A soft whimper broke him from his thoughts, and he quickly was right beside the small bundle of blonde-hair. The little girl was crying, and her sobs broke Harry's heart.

Leaning down, Harry picked up a pebble. With a small wave, he transfigured it into a stuffed puppy, and gently pressed it into the hands of the little girl.

" _Here you go, little one._ "

The little blonde girl looked up at Harry with her tear-stained eyes, before grabbing the stuffed puppy and snuggling with it, giggling just a little when the stuffed animal wiggled a little bit and gave a small bark.

" _Thank you, Harry. For saving me, us,"_ Fleur started, as he rubbed the back of her little sister. The horrors of the night was still fresh in her mind, and the way things went, it all seemed as though it was premeditated. The way her sister and herself were separated from her parents, the wards, and the way the men led them to this specific area of the forest was too suspicious to be a random attack.

Harry smiled tiredly at the Frenchwoman, " _Don't worry about it, Fleur."_

Before Harry could continue, several apparition pops were heard around them. Harry, with adrenaline still rushing through his veins, immediately got up and spun around, wand at the ready. He glanced left and right, and immediately counted about ten figures stalking towards them.

On instinct alone, Harry brought his wand up and blocked the first three stunning spells that were sent towards him. Growling, Harry started firing back his own stunners, but was caught by four stunners sent behind him. The last thing he remembered before falling to the ground unconscious were the terrified faces of both Fleur and her sister, and a familiar voice shouting, "Harry!"


	3. Chapter 3

**The Serpent of Durmstrang**

A/N: This is a rewrite of the Dragon of Durmstrang, where mistakes were made and are going to be corrected, while the story and writing will be improved. This is also my NaNoWriMo prep story, so all reviews are appreciated.

 **Chapter Three**

The light blinded Harry for a moment as he opened his eyes. He could hear a lot of chattering just to his left. His body visibly relaxed as he heard Remus and Sirius in a heated argument about something or the other.

Relaxing his body, he could feel his lower back still pulsed with pain every so often. He tried remembering what had happened after the Death Eaters had quickly retreated, but could only remember flashes of red. Stunners. He shielded most of them that came from the front, but he was not mindful of his surroundings. They got him from behind, and it seems more than one stunner connected.

Groaning slightly, he tried moving his back to make himself more comfortable, and paid for it in the throbbing pain coursing all throughout his spinal region. The action was not unheard, and immediately, he heard shuffling from beside him, and he saw two familiar faces looming over his bed with concern.

"Sirius, Remus, glad you can make it," Harry smiled, but winced slightly after accidentally shifting his body weight just a bit to the left.

Sirius looked relieved, while Remus was ragged but smiled at him. They were both looking quite battled-out, with singe marks on both of their robes. Remus looked worse, especially since the full moon was due in two nights, and was already taking a toll on the man.

Sirius brushed a strand of his dark-brown locks, and started, "You had us worried there, pup."

"The aurors responded as fast as they could, but it seems they missed their mark."

"More so they got the wrong person," Sirius growled, glancing at Remus for his comment, and ending his glare at the two men stations just by the flap entrance of the tent.

Judging by what Harry can surmise, he was still within the camp grounds, and in a hastily erected medical tent. He was definitely not in a hospital, and from what he could gather, St. Mungo's would be the only one available, and from the incident last night, they would be at full capacity anyways.

The two men cowered from Sirius' glare, while Remus grimaced. It seems that the aurors were the ones who got him last night, quite literally. And the argument earlier was most likely Sirius and Remus reaming out the two aurors that were most likely stationed to protect him.

"Where's Fleur and her sister?" Harry quickly asked, remembering the blonde French and her little sister. If the aurors got him, then they should be safe.

Sirius smirked at him, "They're both at another tent, and it seems you still can't control that saving people thing of yours, hey?"

"I trie-"

Remus held his hand to stop Harry from trying to defend himself, "Harry, we're proud of you, and the way you handled three Death Eaters, from what we can gather from the two young women you saved."

"But what you did, it only reinforces the fact that we need to take your training more seriously," Serious replied solemnly, his mind already racing in different directions planning out Harry's training plan.

"You lived, Harry, that's all that matters," Remus ended, giving the young man a nod of encouragement.

Harry smiled slightly, "I held my own against them, but I was low in power really quick."

Sirius scratched his already grown stubble of a beard, "From what we were able to gather from Miss Delacour's testimony, you had thrown a lot of transfiguration during the battle. That would deplete your core really fast."

Thinking back to his fight, his rash transfiguration was definitely one of his downfall. Too much, and yielded too little of a result. Mostly, his mass transfiguration was a mere annoyance to the three Death Eaters, nothing more. They were perfect as distractions, but in a real fight, they were useless. Harry had to admit that most of what he did was at the spur of the moment, there were no real strategies involved in that fight. If push came to shove, Harry might've lost in the end. That thought scared Harry, but he steeled himself.

"I need more training," Harry started, shaking himself from his analysis of the fight, "I need _real_ training."

Both Sirius and Remus smiled, they both knew that this would be the turning in the young man's life. And judging by what they know about Harry, he will want to be better prepared. Harry Potter was not someone who gave up when the going gets tough. He was a fighter, just like his parents.

"I'm guessing you want to learn to fight using transfiguration then? No more mock duels?" Sirius asked, already knowing the answer. Harry was proficient in the art, and it was stupid not to let him blossom in the field where he is most talented in. They had to work his strengths.

Harry nodded. Battle transfiguration, it was a field of expertise that not a lot of people go into. In fact, the field was so unpopular that there were only a handful of masters throughout the centuries. One of the most famous ones was Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the Hogwarts four. Another would be the first Highmistress of Durmstrang, Nerida Vulchanova. In current times, the only ones that came to mind were Albus Dumbledore, and the current Transfiguration instruction for Durmstrang, Petyr Gregorovitch.

Battle transfiguration was unpopular, not because it was a useless mastery, but rather for its supreme difficulty in learning. Transfiguration, while easy for most witches and wizards, paled in comparison to some of the feats a battle transfiguration master could do. It not only used speed, but also required a solid state of mind, and a high amount of concentration in the heat of battle. Creativity, while not important in regular transfiguration, also played a significant role in battle transfiguration. All of these traits are needed to become a successful battle transfiguration master, a feat done by seemingly only one individual every generation. It was Albus Dumbledore in his time, Petyr Gregorovitch preceded him, under Dumbledore's tutelage, and finally it seems Harry himself is ready to take the bull by the horns.

Silence reigned the room. Sirius stared hard at the tent flaps, while Remus' face scrunched in concentration while keeping himself from fidgeting too much from the constant anxiety he was feeling due to the coming full moon. After a solid minute or two, Sirius looked towards the two stationed aurors and asked them to give them a few moment alone.

As the two aurors reluctantly left the tent, Sirius nodded to Remus, who immediately pointed his wand at the entrance and cast his most powerful silencing charm.

"We didn't want to burden you with this, Harry," Sirius started, getting a nod from Remus to continue, "But you need to know what's happening out there, especially after last night."

Harry stayed as quiet as possible, even though a huge part of him wanted to burst out into question mode.

A short silence, before Remus cut in, "Things have been set into motion, Harry. And last night was just the grand opening."

"Death Eaters," Harry replied curtly, already knowing the answer. It wasn't as if he was frightened, nor intimidated. Rather, he knew well enough the price to pay for another war with these blood supremacist. Family, friends, and everyone else were cut down all in the name of supremacy.

Sirius nodded grimly, "These disappearances across Europe is just the beginning. There have been whispers underground, people passing notes and convening secret meetings at the back of inconspicuous bars and pubs across the continent."

"They're recruiting again, Harry," Remus continued, his face already betraying his calm demeanour, "The werewolves across the continent are gathering, and it isn't good, especially since Greyback is leading the packs once again."

"Greyback? Isn't he the one who-" Harry started, but was cut off by Remus nodding, his gaze hardening.

Sirius coughed, "What we're trying to say is that: something is brewing, something that we believe to be another coming of a Dark Lord. The symbol last night was just a stamp to our already full-fledged theory."

Harry remembered the Dark Mark floating in the cool midnight sky, glowing menacingly green, looming over anybody within the vicinity. It was the mark that put fear into the hearts of almost everyone, and a very powerful tool that demoralized the Wizarding World during Lord Voldemort's campaign. It was also the same mark that caused the Death Eaters attacking him and the two ladies to flee rather quickly.

"So Lord Voldemort is rising once more? I thought he's dead?" Harry asked, his fingers unconsciously tracing his lightning-shaped scar.

"We never found a body, Harry. And that man, or whatever he was at that point, was known to have dabbled in the Dark Arts further than anyone in the annals of history. It wouldn't surprise me that he did not truly die that day."

Harry stared at Sirius, then glanced at a silent Remus, before withdrawing into his own thoughts. His parents, they had died for him, and quite possibly halted Lord Voldemort's rise to power for almost seventeen years. The world owes his parents so much more, and he was going to make sure he will not let his parent's sacrifice be in vain.

"Okay, okay," Harry whispered to himself, before looking up at the two adults, "All of this...it means I just need to prepare. I need to be ready for when the fight comes looking for us, for me."

Remus nodded, "You're likely going to be a target sooner or later. There are those in Lord Voldemort's inner circle, still loose I might add, that hold a grudge against you. Greyback being one of them."

"I'll be putting that _dog_ six feet under if he harms a hair on Harry," Sirius almost barked out, to the amusement of Harry.

"Oh!" Harry quickly remembered a very important piece of last night's encounter, "I heard names last night! Malfoy, and McNair!"

Remus shook his head, while Sirius explained, "We tried. Trust me we tried very hard, especially with the Veritaserum testimony that Fleur Delacour gave on your behalf. But you have to understand, Harry, that Wizarding Britain is backwards. It's still ruled by the elites, and both those names are almost immune to any persecution at this point it time."

"You mean they lined the right pockets last election, then?"

Sirius nodded grimly, "Fudge is still an oaf. A very rich oaf nowadays, but an oaf nonetheless."

Harry shook his head. One of the thing Sirius was preparing him for was his eventual resurfacing in British Wizarding society, and one such lessons involved the massive amounts of bribery happening within Wizengamot halls. Buying and selling votes was not uncommon, and Harry refused to take part in it when the time came. His great grandfather, Henry Potter, had been a very influential Lord Potter, and a very hated man by the pureblood elitist for his lobbying support for Wizarding intervention during the First World War of the muggles. Harry wanted to share in his great grandfather's successes, and was eager to learn from Sirius about the comings and goings of politics, to better prepare him for when he takes up his mantle in the Wizengamot chambers as the next Lord Potter.

A commotion disturbed the otherwise peaceful gathering of the three men. Sirius immediately had his wand at the ready, joined by Remus less than a second afterwards. Nodding, Sirius went outside to check up on the commotion. Remus took a stance in front of Harry's bed, to shield him from any spell fire that might come from the entrance.

It took a total of thirty seconds for Sirius to poke his head in with a grin plastered on his face, "You have a visitor, Harry."

Remus, from the smirk, already knew who it was, and quickly took a few steps and exited the tent, but made sure to wink at Harry in the process.

Harry was confused for a moment, and his thoughts immediately thought of his friends, most likely Kassandra, visiting. That would cause Sirius' smirk, and Remus' wink. Both of them knew what had happened between the two friends, and both men actually encouraged Harry to try it out with the lovely Romanova heiress, but Harry digressed. It felt weird, since Kassandra had been a very close friend, more like sister, to him over the past six years in Durmstrang. It just didn't feel right.

As the flaps of the tent open once more, Harry had to stop himself from being smiling too widely. Fleur Delacour, now clad in a rose-patterned snow white sundress, walked in with a shy smile on her face. Harry could not take his gaze away from her face, with her almost too perfectly shaped nose, and her pinkish full lips. Her cheeks were slightly pinkish, while her hair was neatly let loose, cascading down her shoulders and resting mid-back.

Fleur approached Harry, and finally took a seat on the stoll just beside his makeshift hospital bed. Their eyes locked onto each other, before Fleur shook her head, and started, " _I just wanted to personal thank you for rescuing my sister and I yesterday night. If it weren't for you…"_

She left those words hanging, trying not to visualize what might have happened last night if it weren't for Harry's timely intervention. Harry himself saw the shift in mood, and immediately sat up, albeit slowly.

He looked at Fleur and gave her a small smile, " _I did what I thought was right, Fleur. Besides, you never introduced me to that lovely lady you were with last night! How rude!_ "

Fleur giggled, which brought a wider smile on Harry's face. What Fleur and her sister had gone through was not a laughing matter, yet it also did not do well to dwell on things that _might_ have happened.

" _Gabrielle, my little sister. And she's ten years younger than you, pervert!_ "

Harry looked dumbstruck for a moment, before he was shoved lightly my a smiling Fleur. Harry smiled back, with a glint of Marauder mischief in his eye, " _I'll just have to settle for her older sister then._ "

Fleur's face reddened like a tomato, at which point Harry couldn't hold it in anymore and had to laugh at her predicament. She glared playfully at Harry before they settled back down.

Harry observed the girl, and could see that despite appearances, her eyes still had dark rings under them. She most likely had not slept well last night, and for good reason.

" _You know, I didn't expect you to be here,"_ At Fleur's curious gaze, Harry continued quickly, _I just thought you'd be back in France now."_

" _My papa and mama are here, and they thought it best I recover for the night before we leave for home,"_ Fleur replied, her eyes wandering around the room, _"And I wanted to thank you personally for what you did for us, it's only polite."_

Harry nodded, _"Did the aurors give you a hard time?"_

" _My papa made sure they didn't."_

" _I'm guessing your father is high up in the French Ministry?"_

Fleur nodded, _"He's the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in France, but even he couldn't do anything about the men involved last night."_

" _Malfoy and McNair are both hiding under the skirts of the current Minister for Magic,"_ Harry sighed, as he ran his hand in his hair, _"They won't be easily taken out by our accusations."_

Fleur nodded, and once more a comfortable silence reigned between them. From Fleur's point-of-view, the men who came after her and her sister should have been carted off to prison as soon as they had her testify under Veritaserum. Yet, it seems the legal system has failed once again. While France had their form of corruption, it seems that Britain's own tops the charts. Harry's thoughts ran along the same lines, and his fist curled in anger.

" _We'll make sure they pay for what they tried to do to you and your sister, Fleur. I promise."_

Fleur looked towards the raven-haired young man in front of her. The one who had put his life on the line for her and Gabrielle. Selflessly, and without any inclination for some sort of reward. He had done it because it was right. She cannot help but feel an admiration for the young man, and could not stop the fluttering of butterflies in her stomach as he gazed back at her with the most determined expression.

Harry gazed into her cerulean-blue eyes, and could not help but admire her beauty. Her Veela heritage ran through, but there was something else about her. Just because she was a Veela, and a beautiful woman, did not mean she could not defend herself last night. In fact, from what Harry can remember, she did not carry a wand as well.

" _Fleur, about last night,"_ Harry started, _"You didn't have a wand with you, am I right?"_

Fleur sighed, " _The men ambushed me and my sister as we were running through the tents for safety. They disarmed me and broke the wand, before they gave chase."_

" _So, you'll need a new wand then?"_

Fleur nodded at that, " _I should be getting one soon, but I'll need to go back to the Veela conclave for it."_

The Veela wasn't sure why she had to share that piece of information, but it just suddenly burst from her lips without thought. Later on, Fleur would attribute it to the calming presence of Harry, and how easy it was to talk to him.

Harry was about to ask about the existence of Veela conclaves when Sirius walked into the tent, and smirk at the two, "Miss Delacour, your father is outside waiting for you, if you're done with my godson, of course."

Fleur blushed at the comment, before standing up and brushing her dress. She had almost lost track of time, and their portkey back to France was probably going very soon. She started walking towards the entrance, but quickly looked back, _"Can I owl you sometime, Harry?"_

Harry smiled brightly, a blush spreading across his face, _"Of course, if I can owl back?"_

With a nod, and a brilliant smile, Fleur left the tent. This left a smirking Sirius eyeing his godson. Harry could already see the barrage of questions that Sirius had for him, and could only groan as Remus came into the tent and promptly asked, "So, did you show her why you're called the Serpent of Durmstrang?"

This made Sirius laugh out loudly, while Harry groaned even louder, trying to bury himself in his sheets. The last few weeks of his summer vacation won't be fun at all, especially with these two buffoons trying to set him up with Fleur Delacour of all people.

Calming himself, and wiping a stray tear, Remus was finally able to pat Sirius on the back and stare at Harry seriously, "I took the time to mail your instructor, Petyr Gregorovitch about your interest in battle transfiguration. Hopefully he'll reply soon, and start your training just a little bit before your seventh year starts."

Harry nodded. His last few weeks will definitely be interesting. If not for the probable battle transfiguration lessons, then for Fleur's first letter.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Serpent of Durmstrang**

A/N: I will be posting this on my Wattpad account as well, so please don't message me about anybody plagiarizing in Wattpad! Thank you for those who have kept up with this rewrite, and please review!

 **Chapter Four**

It had been just a few days after the Quidditch World Cup incident, and lying in bed rest for so long did not improve Harry's mood all that much. The healers that were sent to the camp grounds had been very adamant about not moving him until he had sufficiently recovered from the bruises on his spinal cord. While potions can be used to significantly lessen the pain, it was not recommended due to the precarious nature of the spinal nerves, and any hampered self-repairing could result to a permanent disability.

Finally, after four days, the healers cleared Harry to leave, to the relief of both Sirius and Remus. Both men were not pleased to have been marooned in British soil, and had to leave for a few days to for Remus' full moon transformation. Harry himself had not been happy with the situation, especially since he was not allowed to move too much, much less walk around. He felt confined, and was rearing to leave when the healer had finally cleared him.

As the healer left, and Harry finished putting on the new set of clothes brought to him by Sirius last night, the man himself bared into the room with a full-blown smile.

"Ready, pup?" Sirius eagerly asked.

Harry nodded, checking his wand holster one last time before walking out of the tent. Unlike when the tournament had been in full-swing, the camp grounds had almost nothing on it at this point. A few scattered tents littered around his own, but aside from that, the vast green pasture looked untouched.

Sirius guided his charge towards the portkey point just across the clustered medical tents, "You're probably one of the last few to leave. I think there's a few more people in some of the tents, and of course, the muggles."

"Muggles?" Harry asked. He had not heard anything about muggles being injured at all, nor was he privy to the fact that there were muggles in the event.

"Yeah, we had a muggle family who managed the camp grounds. They were the ones being levitated by the Death Eaters, if you can recall."

Harry nodded, "They're recovering well, right?"

"I think so," Sirius replied, shaking his head, "From what I hear, the torture curse was used, so they're being treated for that. And of course, memory charms later on."

As they approached their destination, a Ministry official waved them over with a kind smile. The man was wearing very dusty robes, and a hat that had seen better days. He had a splay of red hair, and was portly in stature. As the man approached them, it was Sirius' turn to grin before giving the man a firm handshake.

"Arthur! It's good to see you," Sirius smiled at the man.

Arthur grinned, "Good to see you too Sirius. How have you been? The continent treating you well?"

"As well as it'll ever be. I heard you have quite the family now!"

"Seven children, six boys and a girl."

"You've been keeping Molly quite busy, hey?" Sirius winked at the man, who could only chuckle at Sirius' antics.

Arthur glanced at Harry, and held out his hand as well, "Arthur Weasley. And you must be Mister Potter?"

"Just Harry, sir," Harry took the man's hand with a firm shake, "a friend of Sirius is always a friend of mine."

"Well then, just Arthur as well, Harry," Arthur gave him a kind smile, and Harry decided that he liked the man. He was good-natured, and seemed very jovial.

"Arthur here was one of the old guard's, fought beside this man in the last war," Sirius started, "not someone to be messed with, a good man and a great friend."

Arthur blushed at the compliments, and coughed. He was not used to compliments, especially since a lot of people in the Ministry thought he was a laughing stock. Sirius Black, James Potter, and Remus Lupin were the three people he had been quite close to during the war, and certainly counted them as friends. Sadly, throughout the years, he had lost contact with the last two Marauders.

"Anyways, no time to spare at the moment," Arthur coughed, already placing a quill into Sirius' palm, "the portkey leaves in a minute."

Sirius nodded, "We'll be seeing you soon, I'm sure."

Arthur nodded. Harry quickly place a finger on the quill, and with a quick thank you to Arthur, they were whisked away. The sensation made Harry's stomach churl, but he held it as as he stumbled from their not-so-perfect landing. Quickly dusting himself, Harry looked up and saw their townhouse in Bern, Switzerland. In fact, glancing around, Harry was sure he was in Bern.

"Yup, made sure we came back here after your incident," Sirius smiled at Harry, "No more training for you for the next two weeks before your school year, we need you in tip-top shape for what's to come."

Harry nodded, already yearning for the soft beds of their Bern home. Their summer hideaway, the Black property on the Italian coast, did not have the best accommodations. In fact, Harry was sure that the beds there were still from the Renaissance, with their solid hard base, and their creaky wooden frames.

Approaching the door, Harry suddenly realized something that Sirius mentioned, "What do you mean, what's to come?"

"You'll see," Sirius winked, as he gestured towards the front door. Harry took the cue, and hopped up the short climb to their front door, the wards of the house recognizing him as having permission to enter. Gripping the handle, Harry opened the door only to reveal a small group of people looking at him eagerly.

"SURPRISE!"

Harry was taken aback, and almost fell onto his bum. Sirius caught him, and barked loudly as he set his godson back onto his feet. Some of the ones inside watching here sniggered, while others just smiled at his circumstance. Harry could make out Viktor and Aleksander grinning at him, while Kassandra was shaking her head with concealed mirth. Alanna was smiling at him, with Remus beside her howling in laughter. Surprisingly, he could see his transfiguration instructor, Petyr Gregorovitch, standing just by the side, giving him an eye smile.

"Get over here, you monkey!" Aleksander laughed, as he pulled Harry into a one-arm hug.

Viktor patted Harry on the shoulder as he quipped, "I can attest that he isn't drunk, Harry, so don't worry about puke all over you this time!"

"Hey! I'm just happy to see him!"

"That's what you said last time, then the puking began."

Viktor, Kassandra, and Alanna laughed at that, remembering their end of year celebrations. Harry had been cooped up behind their last exam, History of Magic, since it was his worst subject. In the end, his friends had started the party without him, with the insistence of an already drunk Aleksander. Then when he had arrived in their dorm room, Aleksander puked on his school robes. It wasn't the best of his memories with his best friend.

"But seriously, Harry," Aleksander had a hard look on his face, "I'm so sorry that you had to deal with a drunk me. I know if it weren't for you, and Viktor…"

Harry grabbed his friends shoulders, "You're our friend, Aleksander, and we don't leave each other behind."

The teen teared up at Harry's proclamation. He wiped his already leaking tears, "Never again, Harry. I promise to never again be a burden to you, or anyone else."

"Good!" Harry replied, patting him on the shoulder, "Now, shouldn't we start celebrating my return? Where's the booze?"

Remus laughed, "No booze, as requested by your very own Aleksander Petrov."

"No-"

"Yup," Aleksander beamed, "I promised to stay sober for the rest of my goddamn life."

Harry looked at the teen who started drinking at the age of fourteen, who never missed an opportunity for a shot of firewhiskey, and never stayed sober during the weekend. Aleksander was the one who introduced Harry to the fine taste of liquor, and was the main supplier of them during the school year for anyone willing to shell out the pretty penny. Behind the obvious eye bags of alcohol withdrawal, he could see a new man, a changed and dare he say it, a better man.

"I'm proud of you, Aleksander," Harry smiled at his best friend, before gesturing towards the rest of his group, "We all are."

At this, Kassandra nodded firmly, while Alanna gave him a thumbs up, and Viktor grunted in agreement. They all knew his drinking problem only became a real problem after his father's disappearance. This newfound conviction was welcome, and seemed to be the spark that had reignited the old Aleksander, the Aleksander they all knew and loved.

"Good, now that we're all settled, let's get some of those cakes that Alanna and Kassandra baked!" Sirius exclaimed, almost knocking over Harry and Aleksander while charging into the kitchen. Everyone had a laugh at that, since it was no secret that Sirius fell in love with Kassandra and Alanna's baking when they first stayed over during the summer with the rest of Harry's friend group. In fact, it was no secret that Sirius proclaimed that Harry should marry both of the girl's for their baking prowess, to the embarrassment of both ladies and Harry.

As everyone started to file into the kitchen, Harry was gently pulled aside by his transfiguration instructor towards the living room. Harry obliged, and waved his friends to follow through the kitchen. He was almost sure as to this surprise visit, but he was eager to hear it from the man himself.

Harry gestured for Petyr to sit down in one of the two opposing single armed couches, while Harry did the same. Petyr stared at the young man he was taking in as his apprentice, and could feel the raw magical power that he had. It was like himself when he was younger, and the nostalgia kicked in. He was in almost the same position when Albus Dumbledore had accepted him as his apprentice a long time ago, and that day changed his life, as he knew today will change Harry's life.

"Mister Potter-"

"Harry, please, professor," Harry smiled, "We're in my home, after all."

"Harry, then," Petyr obliged, smiling in return, "I received word from your godfather about your interest in battle transfiguration, and would like to extend an apprenticeship starting this school year."

"An apprenticeship?" Harry exclaimed, since he was already preparing himself for a battery of tests to prove his worth. An apprenticeship was not something anyone could get in the Wizarding world, and was afforded only to the best in their generation.

Petyr smiled, "Yes, an apprenticeship. If I have not been your transfiguration instructor for the past six years, then I would have asked you to prove your worth. However, you have shown time and time again in class that you are well above your classmates in the art, and have even amazed me sometimes with you work."

"But, professor, how about my seventh year transfiguration? Will I be taking this apprenticeship, and your class at the same time?"

"No," Petyr shook his head, "You will be my teaching assistant during the class times for seventh year transfiguration. We will be looking at your timetable on the first day of classes to see which days of the week we can accommodate your apprenticeship with me."

Harry could only nod, and stare at his tall and lithe professor. The man was past six feet in height, and always wore immaculate sleek-black robes. His hair was pulled back, while sporting a stubble on his chin, which complimented his sharp features. The man towered most of everyone in school, save for the Highmaster.

"Now, as you might know, battle transfiguration is not something to scoff at," Petyr started, pulling out from his satchel an assortment of tomes that looked older than Merlin, "These textbooks will be your foundation. You will need to complete the reading before the school year starts."

"Will there by spell work involved throughout the readings?"

Petyr shook his head, "Not for the first few weeks. It'll mostly be theory for the most part, especially since a lot of the common transfiguration theories will be thrown out into the wind."

"Which ones?" Harry's curiosity piqued, especially since he had taken the transfiguration theories to heart as he learned them throughout the years. To say that the laws he had abided by over the years will be inconsequential moving forward was exciting.

"Well," Petyr started, squaring his shoulders, a habit he had when he went into lecture mode, "unlike what we teach about non-creativity, which is comparable to charms, battle transfiguration requires the practitioner to be very creative. Our creativity is most likely the core to our effectiveness. Without creativity, one cannot truly become a master at battle transfiguration."

Harry nodded, eagerly soaking up the knowledge from his professor. For years, he had been taught that transfiguration required a lot of concentration, and little creativity. Transfiguration was science-like in nature, where precision is key. Yet, to say that creativity has become an important factor as well as precision was ludicrous. To have both means a person has to have a very strong control of their mental faculties, which meant Occlumency.

Petyr, seeing Harry absorb the knowledge like a sponge, decided to continue, "For example, I use battle transfiguration like a hammer, using brute force to overcome my opponent, notably using what I transfigure. Contrary to that, my master, Albus Dumbledore, has more finesse and usually attacks in a smaller, but grander scale."

From Petyr's explanation, Harry could surmise that the creativity part of battle transfiguration came from the fact that it determines what you transfigure to aid you in a fight. Most likely, Professor Gregorovitch transfigures and possibly even animates objects to do his bidding. Even then, Harry knew for a fact that transfiguration relies on the objects one can transfigure, which means the surroundings is a major factor in a battle.

"Now," Petyr got up from his head, running a hand on his slicked-back hair, "I will trouble you no further. Go enjoy the day with your friends, and read the books. We'll see each other when the school year starts."

With that, the professor took his leave and left through the front door. Harry continued to sit, and contemplate this life changing decision he had made, as well as the added amount of commitment that came with it. He felt wholly unprepared for it all, but he knew he had to push forward. If what Sirius and Remus were saying was true, then he needed to be ready. Lord Voldemort, or some other Dark Lord, seems to be gathering and arming themselves for a fight, and he was most definitely going to be an active player. Not by choice, but by the fact that he carried his lightning-shaped scar, a symbol of power that rallies against Dark Lords. It is a reminder, the scar that defeated the last Dark Lord, and any future ones will see it as a threat to their rise.

Shaking his head, Harry got up slowly and stretched. The bed rest had been both kind and unkind to his body. He was healed up, and rearing to sprint, yet he was also out of shape. If every falls into place, then he will need to be in tip top shape before the term starts.

"You coming, Harry?" a smiling Kassandra asked, as she peeked into the living room. Harry noticed she was wearing a baby pink shirt that had the Weird Sister's logo plastered on it, and skinny jeans that accented her features rather well.

Harry nodded, but before he could take a few steps, he quickly realized this was probably the best time to have a proper talk with Kassandra. They had not parted in the best of terms during the year end, and he wanted to mend that gap, especially now more than ever, with the looming darkness just on the horizon.

"Kassandra, can I have a moment?"

Kassandra frowned a little, before taking tentative steps into the room and closing the door behind her. She kept a perfect manicured stance of a pureblood princess, yet he could see her fingers fidgeting.

Harry sighed, "I know we didn't part on the best of terms-"

"Harry, don't sugarcoat it. I've known you ever since first year, when you were a snot-nosed brat. Just say what you need to say."

"Fine. I love you, Kassandra. But as my sister. We grew up together, and you were my first real friend in Durmstrang, and no matter what you say, I know I was your first friend too. Too be honest, I thought I was going to end up with you when we started third year, especially since I had a massive crush on-"

"You had a crush on me?" Kassandra's eyes widened, before she giggled, "Sorry, sorry, please continue."

Harry coughed, embarrassed by his admittance, "Yes, I did have a crush on you. But as we finished fifth year, I realized it was a passing fancy on my first and closest friend. You're my sister, Kass, and even though you've grown to be be such a breathtakingly beautiful woman, I know in my heart I'm not the one for you."

Kassandra brushed a tear from her eye. The sudden honesty from Harry had been quite an eye opener. For the last few weeks, she had thought that he rejected her because she wasn't enough for him. She wouldn't be surprised, since at home, she was not the favourite daughter and was often ridiculed for not being more like her older sister. Looking at Harry, she couldn't stop her small smile as she saw the small messy-haired first year in his place. He had been her first friend, and she treasured that memory every single day. It kept her going for the last six years in Durmstrang, that she had a friend who would support her without fail, and was most likely the reason she had developed romantic feelings for him. Getting over it wouldn't be a day's work, but she'll manage. Harry's friendship meant more to her than anything.

"Thank you," Kassandra was finally able to choke out, "you, we, we can get through this, right?"

Harry nodded, and went for a hug. Kassandra obliged, and they stood there for a few moments, just embracing, like when they were first years. Kassandra enjoyed the moment, before Harry pulled back and gave her forehead a kiss.

"Your still my friend, my best friend, Kass. We'll pull through together," Harry grinned at her, "besides, who'll be my rival in all things academic if you're not around?"

Kassandra scoffed, "Yeah, right! It's only a rivalry when you can actually get on my level, Potter."

Harry laughed at that, and was joined quickly by Kassandra. They both grinned at each other before taking a few steps towards the door. However, before Harry could join Kassandra outside, there was a knock on the window of the living room. Looking back, Harry could see a hawkish-like owl with an envelope in its talons staring at him in anticipation.

"You might want to get that," Kassandra urged him, "It should be safe, right? With the Black wards still in place?"

Harry nodded, already opening the window for the owl to fly in and drop the letter onto his open palm. He glanced at Kassandra, as he started opening the letter, "Yeah, the Black wards purge any cursed or laced letters instantly."

Letting the letter fall out into his palm, he was immediately hit with the smell of flowery perfume. It wasn't too overwhelming, and it smelled quite nice, if not very familiar. Kassandra quickly was behind him and peeked at the slightly open letter.

She caught a glimpse at the name of the sender. The name made her heart clench, but she forced a grin onto her face, "It's perfumed, she must like you, this Fleur Delacour."

"Don't be nosy, Kass!" Harry immediately folded the letter and placed it inside his pocket. He would read it later, when he had more time and was alone.

"Let's go, they're probably waiting for us already!" Harry shooed Kassandra, as she stuck her tongue out at him.

Kassandra let him push her out of the room, but whispered lightly so only he could hear, "I'll keep this secret if you promise to introduce me to her before anybody else in our friend group."

Harry stared at the young woman, who immediately continued, "She needs your best friend's approval, after all!"

"Fine," Harry conceded, "just promise to be nice."

"Promise!"

Somehow, Harry didn't believe her.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Serpent of Durmstrang**

A/N: This is a rewrite of the Dragon of Durmstrang, where mistakes were made and are going to be corrected, while the story and writing will be improved. This is also my NaNoWriMo prep story, so all reviews are appreciated.

 **Chapter Five**

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I'm glad to hear that you're taking your studies more seriously, especially with your apprenticeship in the field of battle transfiguration! You're right that it'll be quite the challenge, but it will all be worth it in the end. I myself will be applying for a Charms apprenticeship soon, but it seems my professor would like to see what I'm capable first, before she would accept me. Charms is such a competitive field with a lot of people trying to get into that I will need to stand out this year!_

 _You were right, by the way. I asked my papa about the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and while he was reluctant to tell me anything, I was able to at least have him give me some of the details. I can't believe I'll spend my last year at Hogwarts this year! I will definitely miss Beauxbatons, especially since it is my last year, as I'm sure you will miss Durmstrang. I'm excited that we get to see each other so soon, though! You'll have to let me meet some of your friends, they seem to be an exciting bunch from all the stories you've shared about them._

 _Amelie and Zoe are becoming a handful this summer, and they've not left my side since after the incident. I think they feel guilty for not being there with me, especially since they both declined my papa's two extra tickets for them. They're just happy I'm safe, and they are quite adamant about meeting you as well. They're both quite energetic, so they'll be a handful when they finally meet you, just be careful!_

 _I can't believe it's almost the end of summer for us. I'm very excited about going back and finally finishing my education. Seven years of school and finally it's coming to an end, are you excited? With the Tri-Wizard tournament in the horizon, are you thinking of competing? It might be a good way to challenge yourself, but with the dangers that I have read about it, i'm not too eager with competing myself._

 _Anyways, I'm writing this to you before I leave for Beauxbatons. So it might take awhile for me to send you a reply once I get to school! I hope you have a safe journey to Durmstrang!_

 _With Love,_

 _Fleur Delacour_

Harry tucked the letter into his suitcase, vowing to write a reply as soon as he can. He had a total of five minutes before the portkey to the train station for Durmstrang left. Looking around his bedroom for the last sixteen years of his life, he could not help but feel a little emotional. This medium sized bedroom had housed a young Harry, eager to learn magic, to a now seventeen year-old Harry going for his last year of education. Coming back next year, he will be a fully educated wizard, someone who aims to make strides in the magical community. In fact, he might not even come back to this room for a long time, since he had planned on staying in Magical Britain for a few years, solidifying his family's position once more in the Wizengamot, as well as settling his family's affairs with Gringotts. This room had housed a budding wizard, and now he was ready to spread his wings.

"Ready, pup?" Sirius asked, his head peeking through a small crack of the bedroom door. Sirius Black was not a sentimental man, but watching his best friend's son grow had been one of the best experiences he had in his lifetime. Harry might as well have been his own son, and he can definitely say without a doubt that he was proud of the young man he turned out to be.

Harry nodded, placing his suitcase on the ground and started rolling it behind him as he made his way out of them room. He made sure to double check the mental list he had for items he might've forgotten. The last being Fleur's letter, which he made sure to take with him, as well as any other letters she had sent the past two weeks. They had kept in contact regularly, and Harry could not help but savour each moment when Fleur's replies arrived. They had become fast friends, and while Harry's teenage hormones repeatedly told him to ask her out, he had stayed his hand. They were friends, good friends at this point, but he had other things he needed to worry about, one of which might be a rising Dark Lord.

"Sirius, you know I never thanked you," Harry started, as they both arrived by the dining area where a leather glove, which Harry assumed to be the portkey, laid on the dining table, "for everything."

Sirius smiled, "Harry, you don't have to thank me. I'm your godfather, and I'm supposed to do all these things for you."

"You didn't have to," Harry shook his head, "But you did. You raised me, and made me who I am today. I promise to make you proud, Sirius."

Sirius took Harry in his arms, hugging the young man tightly. Harry had grown up so fast, but in his eyes, he was still the messy-haired six year old asking for flying motorcycle rides in the middle of the night. Patting Harry on the back as he let go, he could see the determination in the young man's eyes. Ever since he was accepted by Petyr Gregorovitch as an apprentice, Harry had thrown himself into the work that the professor had tasked him with. Harry Potter was not Harry Potter without all the dedication he placed into his work. It was one of the reasons why Sirius and Remus did not hesitate to teach him on Animagus transformation at the age of fourteen. The Marauders did it during their fifth year at Hogwarts, and Harry beat his father's record by one year, which spoke testaments to his talents with transfiguration, just like James.

"You already make us proud, Harry," Sirius replied, smiling lovingly at his godson, "Remus and I have always been proud of you, and no matter what you do, always remember that."

Harry nodded. His family might be a bit broken, having a werewolf and a well-known casanova as father figures, but it was still his family, and he couldn't ask for a better one.

"Remus wanted to be here today, to see you off on your last year," Sirius started, his face frowning slightly, "but the werewolves have been stirring more and more the past few weeks, and he needed to go see Albus to exchange information."

"It's fine, I'll see him during the break, I'm sure."

Sirius nodded at that, "Now go, before the portkey leaves without you! Remember the last time that happened…"

Harry had been late once in his life, and the consequences were quite unpleasant. Highmaster Igor Karkaroff was very unhappy, and made him clean the kitchens of Durmstrang for a week with the house elves. All the grime and dishes became the subject of nightmares for years to come. It also taught Harry the importance of being punctual, a lesson he took to heart.

"Take care, Sirius!"

And with a _whoosh!_ Harry disappeared from the Black's Bern residence, and landed quite ungracefully onto the platform.

With Harry's leaving, Sirius immediately picked up some floo powder. He had calls to make, and plans to arrange. Albus Dumbledore dropped a heavy bomb onto him a few nights ago about a prophecy, and he needed to make sure that his godson was as prepared as he'll ever be. They all need to be prepared.

Dusting his school robes, Harry quickly picked himself up and started towards the gloomy-looking train that took students from all over Europe to Durmstrang. Unlike from what he had heard about the Hogwarts train, the Durmstrang train held true to the magical education standards of the Magical European union. The train station was lined on one side with fireplaces for floo travel, which spat out families at every second interval. There were also apparition and portkey points for those who live farther away from northern Europe. The station itself resembled a regular train station, made of bricks and reinforced with steel. Unlike the Hogwarts Express, this train station did not share it's location with the muggle's, but rather was a standalone building in the heart of magical Copenhagen. Durmstrang was located somewhere north, which made the city a great convergence point for all of its students.

Harry looked up at the gigantic clock by the wall, and realized he didn't have much time. Deciding quickly, he made his way through the throngs of people, and rushed into the train. At this point, his friends should have already arrived and claimed a seat. Since he was always the last one to arrive due to his assigned portkey, they always made sure to leave him a spot.

Passing a few compartment, he could see more than a handful of first years already chattering amongst themselves within the first few compartments. The front of the train was reserved for first years in order for them to be able to get to know one another properly. It was important for the first years to know one another well, especially since they will be sharing the same classroom, as well as dorm space, throughout their seven years of magical education.

Just as he was nearing the end of the train, he saw Alanna's head poking out of a compartment door and waving at him quite eagerly. He smiled at the perpetually happy girl, and quickly made his way towards her. She smiled widely at him and opened the door further.

"Harry! Good to see you!" Aleksander cried out, waving at Harry, while the rest of his friends were nodded at his arrival.

It seems he was the only one missing at this point, and he quickly placed his luggage on top of the seats, before taking the empty spot between Kassandra and the window.

"How was the rest of your summer?" Viktor asked, glancing at the compartment door warily.

"Good, just studying for my apprenticeship," Harry replied, before asking, "Why are you looking at the door like that?"

Alanna laughed, while Kassandra sniggered before replying quite heartily, "The fans are overwhelming him. They've tried to come into this compartment too many times to count already since he arrived."

Aleksander patted the young seeker on his shoulders, "Oh, the woes of the rich and famous!"

"Shut up, Petrov!" Viktor grunted, folding his arms and scowling even further.

"Hey, hey, if you keep scowling like that, people will think you're some emo-type Quidditch star. And to be fair, people are into that these days…Ow!"

Viktor had slapped Aleksander on the back of his head, before grunting, "One more word, and it'll be my wand up your nose."

"Fine, fine," Aleksander gave up, rubbing the back of his head, "that _fucking_ hurt, blockhead."

"Should've stopped running your mouth then."

"Settle down, boys," Kassandra smiled at the two, before pointing at the door, "food trolley's here."

That got everyone bustling for their money, as the door opened to reveal an elderly woman with a trolley full of pastry and candy. Aleksander got up swiftly, and immediately started ordering handfuls of everything, while waving away everyone's protests. The woman slowly passed out the things Aleksander had ordered to the other occupants of the compartment, while the rest could only shake their heads.

When Aleksander was done paying for their orders, he shuffled back into his seat and started opening his Chocolate Frogs.

"You know, Aleks, we can pay for ourselves, right?" Harry shrugged at his friend, "but thanks for these, anyways."

Aleksander grinned, "I know, but it's our last year together in this godforsaken train, and I wanted to make it memorable!"

Everyone else smiled to themselves at that point. The thought of this being their last year was both exciting, and frightening at the same time. Aside from Viktor, everyone else in the room will have to choose their career paths, and make something of themselves. Aleksander will most likely take control of his father' businesses, which was not surprising since he was the only son and heir of his father. Alanna knew she wanted to work in journalism, which will is not an easy career path, but she'll manage. Kassandra, despite what everyone thinks, is still in limbo on what she wanted to do. And finally, Harry, who was once dreaming of becoming an auror, is now on his way to a battle transfiguration mastery instead.

Their long-drawn silence was disturbed by a forceful opening of their compartment door. Everyone inside looked up and scowled at the sight.

Three seventh year students stood smirking at the group. Chief among them was a sandy hair, rotund-shaped young man, with a wide nose, and a weak chin. The one to his left was a blonde-haired girl with sharp features, but overly thin in build, while the one to the right was a squared-faced brute with an under bite.

"Lookie here! The boy-who-cried and his group of misfits!"

Harry glared at the group and spat, "Shouldn't you be terrorizing some poor first years, Cadmus?"

Cadmus Carrow, an illegitimate son born under the suspicion of incest between Alecto and Amycus, had been quite the nuisance ever since they first started school. He had made it his mission to annoy Harry and his friends as much as possible every year, which resulted in a few fist fights and more than a handful of detentions on both sides.

"Careful what you say, Potter! Remember what happened during the summer?" Cadmus barked back, spit flying everywhere, "that's just the beginning, and when the Dark Lord returns, he'll come after you first, and then make you watch as he snuffs out every single person you ever loved."

Viktor's body shook violently. The talk of Dark Lords was not one that he enjoyed, especially since the scars that Grindelwald left behind within his own family was too deep to forget easily. As he got up, fist balled and ready to strike, Harry quickly reached over and pushed the Bulgarian back down onto his seat.

"No," Harry commanded, and Viktor, eyes still burning with hatred, let out a long breath, calming himself in the process.

Cadmus had back away from the sudden movement, but seeing Harry calming the Bulgarian brute down, immediately quipped, "That's right, keep your men in a tight leash, Potter."

Before anybody could do anything, Alanna had gotten up and punched the ponce in the face, while Kassandra flicked her wand, and banished the group of three out of their compartment. Harry watched in shock as both women nodded to themselves, admiring their handiwork in front of them.

"Fuck you, Romanova, and your French _slut_!" Cadmus roared, his hand already going for his wand, but before he could even draw it, the professor stationed within the train, which thankfully was Petyr Gregorovitch, stepped in and disarmed the young man.

Cadmus saw his chance and pleaded, "Professor! They attacked me and my friends when all we were trying to do was ask how their summer went!"

Professor Gregorovitch stared hard at the chubby young man in front of him, still lying on the floor, and shook his head, "I saw and hear most of everything, Mister Carrow. Meet me in the first compartment to discuss your detention. Now."

Cadmus and his group immediately got up, and dusted himself off. With a glare at Harry and his friends, he marched off towards the front of the train, his friends in tow. The professor glanced back at the compartment, before nodding and setting off just behind the group.

"Good for Durmstrang to have a professor on board," Aleksander sighed, his wand already at the ready just like everyone else in the compartment, with Harry's own wand already lighting up with a spell just on the tip of his tongue.

Alanna nursed her left knuckle, "Yeah, and good thing it was Professor Gregorovitch too."

Everyone nodded, before Viktor smirked at Alanna, "Nice left hook, Alanna! I think you might've broken his nose too."

Everyone laughed as Alanna blushed deep crimson, "I couldn't help myself."

"Do you think it's true? What he said?" Kassandra whispered softly, catching the attention of everyone in the compartment, and immediately sobering up the mood.

Harry sighed, "From what Sirius and Remus told me, it has some merit."

"A Dark Lord? Really?"

Harry looked at Alanna, before nodding stiffly, "Nothing concrete at this point, but the signs are there."

"You know, when my father disappeared, I thought he was just trying to get away from me and my mother," Aleksander started, piercing the compartment floor with his stare, "but after the Quidditch cup incident, I suddenly realized that if my father disappeared intentionally, he would've made sure to take his assets with him. But nothing's been touched since he went missing. The money in our family vault is in immaculate condition, and no signs of any withdrawals anywhere in the world."

"Then you think that he-"

Aleksandr nodded, stopping Harry's question, "Yeah. He was in some shady business during You-Know-Who's reign, and with everything that's going on, I think his past caught up with him."

Silence reigned the room, everybody feeling the sudden gloom that fell upon them. There was a sliver of fear laced within the air, and Harry could not help but compare it to the Death Eater attack during the Quidditch World Cup.

"Then we need to be ready," Harry nodded, trying to lift up their spirits, "I'm going to start my apprenticeship with Professor Gregorovitch this year, and I will make sure I am well prepared."

Viktor nodded, accompanied by the rest of the group. The Quidditch star, although mostly kept to his own, was frankly quite glad with his friends. They had brought him out of his shell, and made him who he was today. These people were very important to him, and he was going to try his very best to fight by their side, whatever the cost.

"We'll all do our best," Alanna suddenly spoke, with determination in her eyes, "my papa told me to keep my head down this year, and avoid any unwanted attention. And honestly, I've always relied on Kass for most of my life here in Durmstrang. No more!" She slammed her fist at the wall beside her, "I'll do my best, so that I can stand beside you all."

"Well said," Kassandra smiled at her friend, as she pulled Alanna into a one-arm hug.

Aleksander and Viktor glanced at each other, and nodded as well. Dark time might be coming, but the five of them will stick it through no matter what. They were bound, not by blood, but by the experiences they all shared throughout their career at Durmstrang. From the good, to the very bad, they were there for each other, and one thing was certain, they will not be broken apart.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Serpent of Durmstrang**

A/N: This is a rewrite of the Dragon of Durmstrang, where mistakes were made and are going to be corrected, while the story and writing will be improved. This is also my NaNoWriMo prep story, so all reviews are appreciated.

A/N #2: I am looking for a cover art for this specific story, so if any readers are artists or have any image they would like me to use, just send me a message and we can talk about it! It will also be used for the Wattpad version!

Edit: I am currently using the cover I have on Wattpad! Don't hesitate to check it out on that site as well! My other stories have been taken down, and will be rewritten one after another when I finish this one! Do not fret! It has come to my attention that my writing was absolutely horrendous before, and to make it up to my readers, I would like to rewrite my whole collection and improve them one after another. So stay tuned!

 **Chapter Six**

" _Bertha Jorkins….a long serpent slithering alongside an armchair...a very decrepit house…"_

Harry sat up quickly, his eyes wide, scar burning, and cold sweat drenching his sheets. The dreams, nightmares, were becoming worse and worse. It had started just after summer had began, and it periodically plagued him. Occlumency did nothing, and Harry was getting tired of it.

Stretching out his back, he groaned. He had wanted to get a few hours of sleep before he met up with Professor Gregorovitch the next morning. Grabbing his wand, he cast _Tempus,_ which told him he had exactly two more hours before sunrise. Knowing from past experience that he won't be able to go back to sleep, he slowly got up and stretched his whole body.

The room he was in was his own, and resembled every other student's room from first to seventh year. The boys and girls had different corridors within their respective year wing, but did share a common study area. Looking around, he could see the house elves had tidied up the place sometime during the night, since the books that had laid open and sprawled on his moderately sized desk were now piled up neatly. The room was spartan in nature, and the only thing that Harry kept personalized was a picture of his mum and dad on his night stand.

Harry sighed as he finally took a few steps towards his desk. Taking a seat, he flicked his wand at the lap just to his right, which immediately illuminated the dark room. Harry could see some of the parchments were still sprawled around the desk, which he quickly stacked into a neat piled up top of his books.

Riffling through them, he found a blank one and decided it might be the perfect time to pen a reply to Fleur. She most likely would receive the letter a little bit later than the usual delivery time, if Harry was correct about the distance between each Magical school in Europe. Dabbing his quill onto an ink jar, he wrote,

 _Dear Fleur,_

 _I'm happy to hear that you'll also be trying to pursue an apprenticeship! It's definitely not easy, and from all of the readings I have finally finished last night, I can safely conclude that the next few years of my apprenticeship won't be a walk in the park. I suppose I got lucky that Professor Gregorovitch has been my Transfiguration professor for quite sometime, and it seems that I have a high affinity in the subject, which was enough to convince him. I do hope that you'll get your spot soon! If you need any help, please don't hesitate to ask!_

 _I will most definitely miss Durmstrang. What's not to miss? The severely cold weather, the unheated showers, and most importantly the gothic castle? What's not to miss! But in all seriousness, I did spend the last six years here, and while it's not the most hospitable place, it was my home away from home, as I would assume Beauxbatons is for you._

 _I'm looking forward to seeing you again as well! We'll be arriving at Hogwarts at October 30th, and I would think that the school delegations will be arriving at the same time, so we'll see each other again in about two months time._

 _I think I can handle your friends, I suppose I just need to transfigure some stuff toys for them. It seems to have worked with Gabrielle, so it just might work with them as well! You should be more worried my friends, they're going to be 'overprotective', but they're all just teddy bears on the inside!_

 _I'll most likely put my name in for the tournament, though I'm not sure if I'll be chosen. The Highmaster insisted on bringing the whole seventh year as the delegation, which means I do have a lot of competition for getting chosen, my friends for starters. From what I've heard, it's not going to be easy, but I do like a challenge!_

 _I hope you had a safe journey to Beauxbatons! Ours was unimpeded, so we're all here safe and sound!_

 _Always,_

 _Harry Potter_

Satisfied with the letter, Harry folded it evenly before slipping it into a spare envelope he had lying around his desk. Addressing it to Fleur, Harry placed the letter on top of the book stack, before shuffling to put on his school robes.

Checking the time with a _Tempus_ spell, he surmised that he had a little over an hour before dawn, and before breakfast is served. That gave him more than enough time to send his owl, as well as take a quick stroll around the castle. Early morning strolls gave him a much more intimate experience with Durmstrang castle, and as a seventh year, he was not bound by any rules in terms of curfew, which suited Harry's habit quite well.

Grabbing his maroon overcoat, fur-lined, and adorned with the Durmstrang crest on the right breast, he wrapped it around himself, before setting out. Making sure the letter was safely tucked into his pocket, he quickly made his way through the corridor which led towards the common area for seventh years. The room was circular, and across from the boy's corridor was the girl's wing. It was warded, of course, and any male trying to get access would be severely cursed, as tested and proven by a third-year Cadmus Carrow. Soft leather couches and tables with chairs were scattered across the room, while fireplace was kept crackling throughout the year.

Harry headed towards the exit, and pried open the door to reveal a very dark hallway lighted by the sporadic torches scattered at each corridor. The castle was the epitome of gloom, but it's lack of grandeur made sure that students focused mostly on their studies, nothing more.

Making slow stride, Harry made his way onto the first staircase, and quickly ascended through the floors. The seventh year dorms were located on the third floor, and while the castle itself only had four floors, the owlery was located in the unofficial fifth floor, a lonely tower constantly littered with owl droppings. It seems as though the house elves rarely cleaned the place, which if rumour was to be believed, was due to the fact that the owls attacked any house elves that dared enter their landing.

Reaching the top-most landing of the spiral staircase, Harry slowly opened the door as to not disturbed the sleeping owls. While owls were nocturnal creatures, the mailing owls usually slept at different intervals, especially if they have had to deliver international posts.

"Hedwig," Harry softly whispered, which prompted a snowy-white owl to descend from the rafters, and landing onto the brick counters lining the circular wall. Harry smiled at his owl, and began petting her, much to the owl's satisfaction.

"How is your first night back, girl?" Harry smiled, taking out a small piece of owl treats from his robe pockets, and handing it to his owl. Hedwig slowly hopped closer, and started pecking lightly at the snack.

As Hedwig finally finished the last of her treats, Harry pulled out the letter that was tucked neatly into his pocket, and began trying it onto Hedwig's legs. The owl hooted, almost as if in protest of having to deliver a letter so early in the morning. Harry gave the owl's head a slight ruffle, smiling lightly in the process, "Come on, girl. It's for Fleur. You like delivering to her, don't you?"

Hedwig nodded, making Harry smile even wider. Helios, Fleur's eagle owl, had been quite the romantic when he had first met Hedwig. The two had hit it off, and from Fleur's letters, he could guess that whenever Hedwig sends the letters, she always made sure to spend quality time with Helios before she carries any replies back. Harry had to admit that it was very cute.

"Off you go then! I'll get you bacon when you return, promise!"

With a hoot, Hedwig left the tower through one of the openings near ceiling. Harry watched her pierce through the morning sky, and smiled to himself. He was going to see Fleur again soon, and he was very excited. They had bonded rather well with just exchanging letters, and from what he had gathered, she was a very talented witch. Her expertise was with charms, something that Harry was only mediocre at. While Harry was probably one of the best students in transfiguration, and was able to perform spells ahead of his class, he had to push himself harder in his other classes. Charms was one of those, as well as potions. He loved both subjects, but his natural talent for transfiguration did not roll over into other magical disciplines.

Just as he was about to leave the owlery, he heard two men conversing, which seemed to be heading his way. He quickly opened the door, recognizing the voices, and bowed at the two startled men, "Highmaster, professor, good morning."

Highmaster Igor Karkaroff was a very sleezy fellow, his twisted goatee, and his gaunt features made him somewhat intimidating, especially to the unlucky first year who might run into him along the school halls. He sported a much more lavish Durmstrang uniform, lined with fur, and inlaid with silk.

Professor Petyr Gregorovitch was a different matter. While his face was sharp, the professor's eyes was filled with warmth, and at the same time felt very welcoming. Contrary to the Highmaster's lavish taste, Professor Gregorovitch tended to wear regular sets of robes, not adhering to the Durmstrang standard uniform. With such a premier professor teaching, it was no wonder that the school board did not say anything about Professor Gregorovitch's style of clothing.

"Mister Potter," Highmaster Karkaroff drawled, eyeing Harry with slight distaste, "how fortuitous. Professor Gregorovitch and I were just discussing about your behaviour in the train yesterday."

Harry glanced at his professor, whom he could see had shook his head slightly. It seems Cadmus had ran to the Highmaster as soon as they had arrived in Durmstrang. If there was anything good that can be said about the Carrow boy, it was that he knew where to turn to for help, when push comes to shove.

The long pause was enough to tell Harry that he was expected to defend himself, which he made sure to be as careful as possible, "Mister Carrow and I had a disagreement. Some heated words were said in his part, and tempers were high."

The Highmaster nodded, "Indeed," turning to Petyr, he continued, "as Mister Potter had said, words were exchanged, and tempers were high, and I'm sure it was on both sides. I don't think any punishment is in order," he then peered at Harry, "for any side."

Harry got the message. Cadmus was not going to be punished, and if Harry and his friends were to push for it, they themselves were incriminated for their part in the debacle.

Before Harry could reply, however, Professor Gregorovitch quickly placed a hand over Harry's shoulder, and nodded at the Highmaster, "Igor, I trust you can send the list of our delegation to the British Ministry? I'll need to borrow Mister Potter to discuss his apprenticeship with me."

Igor Karkaroff sneered at them both, but held his tongue. While he was Highmaster of Durmstrang, Petyr Gregorovitch wielded the respect and adoration of the school board, which made it harder for Igor to throw his weight around the school. Petyr had always stopped any such nonsense, and have been quite vocal at Igor's lack of credentials as Highmaster. But money made the world go round, and Igor had plenty to line the pockets of his supporters within the school board, even with Petyr's complaints.

Waving at goodbye, Harry was steered away back into the spiral staircase. Harry himself gave a small bow as they were another word, they marched off towards the second floor, which was where the offices of each professor was located. Dawn had arrived, and the halls were much brighter, giving the castle a new life, and lessened the gloom. The castle itself was still mostly asleep, with the exception of some professors who Harry could see were already working within their respective office.

Stopping at the last door of the hallway, Professor Gregorovitch motioned Harry to go in, before following and closing the door with a soft click.

"Sit, Mister Potter," the professor commanded, as he pointed towards the pair of wooden high-backed chairs in front of his desk. Harry obliged, and made himself comfortable. Gregorovitch made his way onto his own seat, and placed his hand onto his table immaculately. He stared at Harry for a few moments, before breaking the silence, "Have you read the books I gave you?"

Harry nodded eagerly, "I have! They were quite interesting, especially since they all highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of transfiguration used in battle. However, I seem to have noticed that the books never mentioned battle transfiguration. Was it-"

Petyr chuckled, as he held his hand up to stop Harry's continuous word spill.

"I'm sorry, professor," Harry apologized, blushing slightly, "the books were really fascinating, and an eye-opener."

"It's alright, Harry. I remember myself in your shoes. And just between you and me, Albus was none to happy with my yapping."

"You apprenticed with Albus Dumbledore?" Harry stared at the man in shock. While he knew that only Albus Dumbledore, besides his professor, were known to be practitioners of battle transfiguration, he had never really connected the dots himself. It was stupid of him not to make the connection"s, but he had never heard of Dumbledore ever taking on an apprentice.

"But, sir," Harry inquired, now scratching his messy hair in confusion, "I've never heard of Dumbledore having any kind of apprentices."

"True, but I apprenticed under Albus before his grand duel and defeat of the Dark Lord Grindelwald. Before that, Albus was not as famous, and therefore my apprenticeship was not a public interest."

Harry nodded. He knew that Albus Dumbledore had been past sixty years old when he had finally confronted and defeated Gellert Grindelwald. And while Dumbledore had been already a well-known personality within the Wizarding community, an apprenticeship was not something the general public would get excited for, especially since the World War proved to be a greater distraction.

Professor Gregorovitch smirked at Harry, "You know, I can clearly remember telling you that my master was Albus Dumbledore when we had met during the summer."

Harry had to think back, and realized that the professor was right, and blushed crimson, "Sorry, it seems the news of becoming your apprentice made me blur some parts of the conversation we had."

"Not to worry," Petyr off-handedly replied, before replacing his smile with a serious expression, "Since you have read through the books, what can you say about battle transfiguration, then?"

Harry stared hard at the desk, not wanting to say what he was going to say, yet he had to be honest, "Battle transfiguration, at least according to the books, is impossible. Transfiguration, in the heat of battle, is slow, and merely acts as distractions."

Petyr stared at his apprentice, who stared back with uncertainty. It seems Harry was a little shy about contradicting his own chosen discipline, which Petyr could understand. He had gone through the same thing after all, and everything that books about transfiguration will tell the reader about the limits of the said discipline. Transfiguration required discipline, and should b approach scientifically to be able to produce results. There was no time for creativity, because precision was key to a successful transfiguration spell.

"I'm going to tell you, despite what you think I will say, that everything said in those books are true."

"What!" Harry exclaimed, "then-"

"I'm not done yet," Petyr admonished his apprentice, "As I was saying, everything in those books are true. However, they do not apply to those who are naturally gifted in the art. For example, inanimate to animate transfiguration should be the hardest task a regular student at Durmstrang will encounter, yet from all the classwork we have done, you can do it with ease."

Harry nodded, recovering from his master's chastise, "With inanimate to animate, we're essentially creating life, a temporary life, but life nonetheless. When I do them, I usually envision, and put the necessary power I feel it needs to fuel the spell, before casting."

"Not everyone can do that, Harry. Transfiguration seems very simple when you explain it that way, but unlike charms, our spells are not fueled by emotions or intent. Transfiguration has always been systematic, and requires the caster to be meticulous. It's the reason why most students take days to master one transfiguration spell, because they are in a sense constructing the intended result systematically within their thoughts with each failed attempt."

Harry could only nod dumbly. He had never thought of transfiguration in that sense, and had scoffed his friends when they praised him for his work. He knew he was quite talented in the subject, but he didn't realize just how different he was compared to the other students and his own friends. Harry had never had to think too much, and just had to visualize what he wanted, and with a spell, results into what he wanted, perfectly.

Petyr smiled at his apprentice, and got up, "What you have, Harry, is a talent. A talent you share with myself, and the oh-so-famous Albus Dumbledore," at that he laughed, "now, best head to breakfast. I'm sure your friends are waiting for you."

Harry nodded, before taking his leave, thoughts about transfiguration boggling his mind.

After Harry had closed the door gently, Petyr slowly made his way to the fireplace across from his office. Grabbing floo powder, he threw a pinch into the fire and said, "Hogwarts Headmaster's Office."

It took less than a second before the face of Albus Dumbledore appeared, old, tired, but jovially smiling at Petyr.

"Petyr, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Petyr Gregorovitch smiled at the man, his own face already aging past his prime, "I just spoke with young Mister Potter, and he will be ready to take on this challenge."

Albus nodded, "It seems you found yourself someone to carry our legacy, Petyr. Is the boy really as talented as his godfather tells me?"

"He is more talented than you might think," Petyr acknowledged with a small smile, "I remember James well, Albus, and I can definitely say that with Lily's penchant for learning, coupled with James' natural talent for transfiguration, this young man might just eclipse us both."

Albus Dumbledore had to smile widely at that. He had been quite adamant about Harry spending his youth with his maternal relatives, the Dursleys, simply because of the protection he could erect around the house. But his inability to enact this plan seemed to have turned out for the better. He had already apologized to both Sirius and Remus for his lapse in judgement, especially when he had fought for custody in the Wizengamot. Truthfully, he had the boy's interest at heart, and he was glad that his plan never came to fruition.

"Once at Hogwarts, will you help me supervise his training, old friend? I am worried that he may be quite the handful once he gets a good grasp of the theories behind our art."

"I would be honoured, Petyr," Albus replied with great anticipation. He might not have been there for Harry growing up, but Albus will make sure that Harry is trained to the best of his abilities, he owed it to the child, after all.

Albus Dumbledore, while still wielding great respect amongst his colleagues and the Wizarding World at large, was getting old. His body could feel the pressures of age slowly creeping upon him, and death was surely not far behind. While he had imparted most of his knowledge unto his apprentice, he knew that Harry Potter could only reach his full potential with both of their tutelage. It was unheard of having two masters for a single apprentice, but Albus Dumbledore never did anything within the norm.

"How's Igor doing? Has he confided in you about his mark?"

Petyr grimaced. Igor Karkaroff, a failed Death Eater turned turncloak, was making strides in degrading the educational system at Durmstrang. He was a gnat, an insect that was hard to get rid of.

"He doesn't confide much in me, and rightly distrusts me," Petyr started, "but I have seen his mark, Albus. It's getting darker every year."

Albus sighed, and started stroking his beard. His conversations with Severus had been the same, and the Dark Mark is indeed becoming more and more prominent with each passing year. And with the incident at the World Cup, the Dark Mark has been as pronounced as the days before Lord Voldemort's downfall.

"Dark days are ahead, Petyr."

"I know, Albus. I know."


	7. Chapter 7

**The Serpent of Durmstrang**

A/N: This is a rewrite of the Dragon of Durmstrang, where mistakes were made and are going to be corrected, while the story and writing will be improved. This is also my NaNoWriMo prep story, so all reviews are appreciated. Also, all my works are down at the moment. They will all be rewritten one at a time, so do not fret!

 **Chapter Seven**

The Beauxbatons carriage landed not so lightly as they finally arrives at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. From what Fleur could see from the small window just beside the front door, the weather was, as expected, cloudy. The students that were a part of the delegation for the Tri-Wizard tournament were warned about this, and they all made sure to bring weather appropriate clothes. That didn't mean they had to like it.

Fleur stood behind everybody in her group. She had woken up late, and had to rush a quick brunch before they were scheduled to land. Madame Maxime was quite vexed at her, and her friends Amelie and Zoe did help her case either. Instead of defending her, they had ratted her out by telling the Headmistress about her constant all-nighters reading textbooks on charms. Fleur knew they were only trying to help, but the Headmistress was strict on curfew, and therefore she now had detention tonight.

" _Cheer up, Fleur,"_ Amelia nudged her friend, trying to lighten the mood, _"I saw the Headmistress' face soften, so she just might take it easy on you tonight!"_

Fleur forced a smile, albeit a tired one. Amelie was always very positive, about anything and everything at all. While it irked Fleur sometimes, especially during Finals, she enjoyed the ray of sunshine from the girl. Sadly, Zoe was the opposite.

" _Or she'll make you scrub her toes!"_

" _Shut up, Zoe."_

" _Make me."_

Fleur sighed, and stuck her tongue out childishly at Zoe, who did the same. Zoe was snarky, and very annoying when she wanted to be. In fact, Fleur was not sure as to how they had become friends at all, best friends in fact. Yet, she knew that Zoe grounded them all, and made sure they all saw the reality versus what they envisioned reality should be. From what Fleur knew, this attitude came from her upbringing, something Zoe still would not share with them.

" _How's your charms reading, by the way?"_ Zoe asked, glancing at Fleur, _"are the books from my family's library helping you at all?"_

Fleur nodded happily, _"Yes! They've been quite helpful. You'll have to thank your parents for me for lending the book."_

Zoe blushed bright-red at that, and softly whispered, _"I kinda smuggled the book out of the house."_

" _What?!"_

" _Well, my parents would never lend it to you, and I turned seventeen last month. So when I finally was able to cross the wards of our family library, I took a few books that I thought would help you with this apprenticeship."_

Fleur's mind ran a thousand miles. Taking a book from the family library was a no-no, especially with pureblood families. Old families, especially ones like Zoe's tended to keep ancient tomes passed down from the previous generations in secret, harbouring and treasuring them from the public. What Zoe did could potentially backfire on her, especially when her parents find out.

" _You have to return them, Zoe,"_ Fleur argued, _"it's not mine to read!"_

Zoe laughed loudly, garnering some curious stares by the people in front of the line, _"Do you think I care about that? Fleur, you're my friend, and I want you to get this apprenticeship. I'm an adult now, so it doesn't matter what my family thinks, feels, or does."_

Fleur was not sure what to say. The dark-haired girl in front of her, eyes filled with conviction, never backed down when she decided on something. She was truly grateful for having friends like Zoe and Amelie, who would stick their necks out for their own, and Fleur would do so for them as well in a heartbeat.

" _Thank you,"_ Fleur whispered, before giving Zoe a hug, which was reciprocated.

Just as Amelie was about to say something, Madame Maxime coughed and stood up from her single-seater reclining couch that was situated just beside one of the windows near the front door. While the carriage might seem small on the outside, the inside was enchanted to be large enough to house twenty-four students, plus teachers and house elves. The layout resembled a corridor, with each room dedicated to either an office and classroom, the kitchen, dining room, and finally the bedrooms of every student and staff. It was a magnificent piece of work, and was the pride and joy of Beauxbatons.

" _Ladies and Gentlemen. We have discussed this before, but let me remind you once more. Be at your best behaviour,"_ Madame Maxime's voice echoed throughout the foyer, strict and commanding, _"You are representing Beauxbatons Academy. Anything you say and do will be a reflection on our school."_

Pausing for a moment, the Headmistress made sure to make eye contact with each and every student gathered in front of the door. As a half-giantess, she held a sense of pride for herself, especially since becoming Headmistress of such an exquisite school of magic. Her parentage made sure that she had little opportunities in life, but she did not that fact hold her back. She was where she was now with hard work and dedication, and she expected her students to embody the same virtues she had upheld for herself, as well as the school. It was what made her popular with the school board, which helped propel her career.

The door opened at that point, and was the signal for everyone to start filing out. The chilling breeze hit the Beauxbatons students head on, and made most of them shiver. Some uttered curses under their breaths, while others immediately cast the warming charm around them and their friends. Fleur took the cue, and whipped her wand and. With a flick, the shivering Zoe and Amelie were nice and toasty, which was evident by their sighs of relief.

" _You're the best, Fleur."_

Fleur smiled at Amelie, before following their group out of the carriage. Glancing around, Fleur could see that most if not all of the Hogwarts students were present and watching their arrival. A lot of _oohs_ and _aahs_ were heard as most were still captured by the neighing Abraxans. Fleur dug herself deep into her periwinkle blue cloak, and took the first few steps down their carriage.

As expected, a few of those near the front of the onlookers were immediately affected by Fleur's allure. While it was possible to control the Veela allure, especially since Fleur was only a quarter Veela, the effect was still present in a smaller area around her. This led to some staring, and a lot of the Hogwarts students started pointing at her and whispering amongst themselves.

Fleur brushed their glances away haughtily, as was taught by her mother and grandmother, before she followed the other Beauxbatons students leading the way into Hogwarts castle.

" _It's beautiful!"_ Zoe exclaimed, already giddy about finally visiting another magical school, and one of the more famous ones to boot.

" _It's too gauntish if you ask me,"_ Fleur replied, although she can't complain about the fact that the castle was quite grand, and towered over Beauxbaton's own chateau. However, unlike the beautiful gardens and fountains of Beauxbatons, the Hogwarts grounds felt lacking. Fleur could see a lake, and a giant galley-like vessel anchored just by the shore. With the giant flag adorning the mast, she guessed it was what the Durmstrang students arrived in.

Looking ahead, her guess was confirmed by a group of what Fleur would assume were Durmstrang students. Their uniforms were maroon in colour, which were far from the hideous black robes the Hogwarts students she saw were wearing, and judging by their pace and demeanour, they were teasing one of their own, the one with messy black hair.

" _Harry,"_ Fleur tentatively called out, unknowingly holding her breath. She had not seen Harry for months now, and their frequent letter exchanges made her just miss his company more. While they never did spend a lot of time together, they got to know each other rather well with their almost daily exchanges, and Fleur felt as though they've been good friends for quite a long time.

The messy-haired young man looked back, and was wide-eyed for a moment when he saw Fleur. His round spectacles were drooping slightly, while his eyes were barely being help open. His uniform was immaculate, however.

Harry gave her a small smile, and waved at her tiredly, _"Hello, Fleur. Fancy seeing you here."_

Fleur returned the smile. They both started walking towards each other, and hugged. Harry could smell her flowery perfume, lavender, if he was correct. Pulling back, they stood just slightly apart, with Fleur smiling at him brightly, _"Let me introduce you to these two headache inducing duo, Amelie and Zoe."_

Looking just past Fleur, Harry could see a striking young woman with silky black hair, and an auburn-haired one standing beside her smile a soft smile adorning her face. They both were wearing the standard Beauxbatons uniform like Fleur.

" _Well, well. Is this the boy that's trying to get into your pants, Fleur?"_ Zoe smirked, brushing a stray strand of her from her face, _"He's not much of a looker, is he?"_

Harry turned towards the black-hair young woman who just insulted him, and smiled, _"Jealous I'm not trying to get into yours instead?"_

Amelie gasped, while Fleur shook her head. Glancing around Harry, she could see his friends were all shaking their hands at his antics. Zoe, for her part, only stared at Harry for a few seconds, before she started laughing.

" _I like you already!"_ Zoe laughed out loud, before coming forward and giving Harry a pat on the head.

" _Harry, are these people bothering you?"_ Viktor had come forward, looking very menacing, flanked by Aleksander and a very irate looking Kassdandra. Alanna could only shake her head at her friends, and how they were already causing a scene.

Harry smiled at his and held his hands up to placate them, " _No, no, this is Fleur and her friends!"_

Kassandra stared up and down at the girl he had pointed out as Fleur, and could not help but feel very self-conscious. Comparing herself to the Veela, she knew she had no chance in the looks department. Fleur's figure was something to die for, and Kassandra figured that a lot of women did die to emulate a Veela's features.

" _I remember you!"_ Aleksandra suddenly shouted, pointing at Fleur with an accusing finger, _"You're the girl Harry fell for-I mean, into!"_

The slip was heard by everybody, and even Harry had to cough loudly at his embarrassment. Zoe laughed loudly once more, while Amelie giggled behind a heavily blushing Fleur.

Aleksander had shuffled forward at that point, and held out his hand for a shake, followed by the rest of Harry's friends, with Kassandra falling behind.

" _Aleksander's the name. The surly one beside me is Viktor, while the two ladies are Alanna and Kassandra, respectively."_

" _Aleks, we can introduce ourselves, you asshole,"_ Viktor spat, which was waved away by Aleksander.

Zoe grinned, and stepped forward, _"So, what they say about Durmstrang students is true. You guys do learn languages on the side. French, really?_

Aleksander grinned at this girl, he liked her personality, and her bluntness, _"We cater to a lot of students across Europe, of course we'd be prepared, unlike Beauxbatons."_

" _Oho! Arrogant, are you?"_

" _You're not so bad yourself."_

" _Can we stop with the flirting, please? We're creating a scene here,"_ Amelie decided to cut in, not enjoying the extra attention they were garnering from those who were on their way back into Hogwarts castle.

Before anybody could say anything however, Madame Maxime seemed to have materialized behind the group. She swept her gaze at her girls, before eyeing the Durmstrang students with wary. She knew about the rumours about Durmstrang and their curriculum. If they were to be believed, then these students were not to be trusted, especially with her students.

" _Ladies, into the castle."_ The half-giantess commanded, leaving no room for argument. She quickly steered the girls away, and Fleur could only wave a goodbye at Harry, promising to talk to each other more soon.

Harry waved, before his shoulder slumped, "I'm still so _fucking_ tired."

"Ha!" Aleksander laughed at his friend, while dragging him along, "You should've slept last night, instead of reading through till dawn, idiot!"

"Who're you calling idiot?" Harry spat back, although he kept his weight supported by Aleksander. He was already worked to the ground by the transfiguration exercises that Petyr had made him do through the night, but he did not want to be behind his school work. So he took extra time afterwards to read through the materials for his other subjects, which was not until after midnight.

Looking around, Harry could see that most of the Durmstrang contingent were already inside the hug castle, and the rest of the people around them were Hogwarts students. More than a handful were staring and pointing at Viktor. It seems they did not know he was a part of the Durmstrang group yet, which was good for him. Sirius had said that people in Magical Britain were quite upset that Harry had not stayed, and he was widely popular with the masses, especially with the children of his generation and onward. Harry never valued attention, and like Viktor, hated it, but he will manage when the time came.

"Mister Potter," a voice stopped Harry and his friends from going into the castle. They turned towards the source and saw a flamboyantly dressed old man smiling at them. His robes were an array of different colours, predominantly purple, however.

Harry immediately recognized the old man, and couldn't help but judge him quite harshly in his method of dressing. The colours were blinding, and quite distracting. It also showed how eccentric the old man can be.

"I was wondering when I would get to meet you," Dumbledore smiled at Harry, "you have Lily's eyes, and James' messy hair."

Harry returned Dumbledore's smile, albeit tiredly, "That's what everyone says when they first meet me, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Just Albus, Harry. It seems we'll be getting to know each other well this year, especially under Petyr's tutelage."

Harry nodded, "I suppose you will be visiting our training sessions soon?"

"I'll do more than just visit, mister Potter," Albus brushed his beard, already anticipating the surprises he'll get to see from the young Potter heir, "I will be taking over a portion of your training."

"What?" Aleksander exclaimed loudly, followed by a jaw-dropped Viktor. Training under the great Albus Dumbledore was not something to be scoffed at, and many have tried and failed to do so.

"Better head in, mister Potter, your Highmaster has already made himself comfortable, from what I have heard."

Harry and his friends nodded, and immediately set a quick pace into Hogwarts. Everyone knew the legendary temper of the Highmaster, and nobody ever wanted to test it. The last student that got in trouble was left expelled immediately afterwards, after spending a few nights at the school infirmary.

Heading into the castle's Great Hall, Harry could see the splendor that Sirius and Remus always boasted about the school. The Great Hall was indeed, great, a massive ballroom type room, lined with torches and armoured knights, as well as adorned with floating candles. The ceiling was made to look like the outside sky, and the end of the large room sat the professors and Headmasters of each school. However, it seems that the table was expanded to accommodate every professor that came with the delegations.

The floor was divided into four different tables, and from what Harry knew, they were the four houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Gryffindor was the house that his parents, and the Marauders were sorted into, while Slytherin was supposedly the house's main antagonists. However, looking at the Gryffindor table, all he could see were students that were goofing off, something he could see Sirius would be doing.

It was then that he noticed most of his schoolmates were already seated at the table filled with green-lined robes. Slytherin, if he wasn't the cue, Aleksander steered Harry into a seat, while everybody else sat around them. They took the end of the table nearest to the door, making sure to distance themselves from Carrow and his cronies, who seemed to be at home chatting amiably with a lot of the older Slytherin students.

"Welcome to Hogwarts…"

The speech of the Headmaster was drowned by the questions his friends had for him. Kassandra was first to speak up, glaring at Harry, "You told me I'd be the first to meet this Veela friend of yours."

Harry scratched the back of his head, smiling shyly, "Sorry, it seems we met under different circumstances, so it can't be helped."

"Hmph!" Kassandra scoffed. Alanna patted the girl on her back, before smiling at Harry, "She seems nice, Harry. Tell us, are you...dating her?"

All of his friends were in rapt attention at this point, staring at Harry as he sputtered. Harry blushed heavily, "No! We're just friends, Alanna."

Aleksander laughed, and before they could say anything further, food appeared in front of them. Looking around, Harry could see a golden goblet with a blue flame lighting the inside. It was sitting on top of a decorated pedestal, and shimmered with power. It seems that might be the object they'll be using to choose the Tri-Wizard champion from each school.

Glancing towards the table that the Beauxbatons students chose, he could see Fleur already taking a few bites from the dishes around her. It seems Hogwarts made sure to include food from different cultures around Europe, in an effort to make the visiting schools feel more at home.

Fleur seemed to have noticed Harry's staring, and smiled back at him.

It was definitely going to be an interesting year,


	8. Chapter 8

**The Serpent of Durmstrang**

A/N: This is a rewrite of the Dragon of Durmstrang, where mistakes were made and are going to be corrected, while the story and writing will be improved. This is also my NaNoWriMo prep story, so all reviews are appreciated. Also, all my works are down at the moment. They will all be rewritten one at a time, so do not fret!

 **Chapter Eight**

"Again!"

Harry quickly learned not to give his professor any more advantages during their training sessions, especially since he was not keen to sporting more bruises than necessary. In effect, he learned to hone his reflexes early on during the first few weeks of the year. Now almost two months in, he could say that he had improved significantly, especially since his bruises were becoming less and less each week.

A giant slab of concrete was sent his way, to which Harry quickly responded with a _bombarda_ spell that smashed into the slab and obscured both party's vision with the plume of dust. With a flick of his wand, the chunks of concrete was transfigured into spears of ice, which Harry banished towards his professor.

Harry didn't expect to win, but he hoped at least one of the ice spears hit its mark. However, the absence of any cries of pain or surrender made him even more vigilant. He knew how tricky Professor Gregorovitch was, and while his training was harsh, Harry knew that the man was not even trying.

As expected, a flock of bees had pushed through the still dusty divide between the two. The bees were angrily buzzing and were were already swarming around him. With a slash, Harry cleaved the oncoming bees into two group, and quickly mass transfigured them into to slabs of concrete. He placed both slabs in front of him on after another, just in time as a javelin was banished his way with such a force that it split the first slab into two, and was finally impaled three inches deep into the second slab.

Not wasting any second, Harry transfigured the broken slab into wolves, and sent them towards where the javelin was banished from, while the second slab of concrete and the javelin he transfigured into an aegis, which he positioned just to his left.

Without warning, a loud gong-like sound resounded from his transfigured aegis. Harry didn't even seemed fazed, as he concentrated any attacks from his right side. True to his prediction, his professor had sent another set of metal poles towards him.

The poles were black, and had very sharp ends to them. He had once made the mistake of getting hit by them, and thought he was a goner. It seems, however, that his professor always made sure to enchant any sharp objects he transfigured to hit like a truck, but not pierce the skin. The speed in which Petyr Gregorovitch transfigured and then enchant was faster than Harry could ever match, especially since from what he could see, it took the professor the same amount of time doing both while Harry could only transfigure in the same amount of time.

Harry twirled his wand, and instead of transfiguring the rods, he quickly turned them around and sent them back towards his professor. The dust seemed to be settling, and he could see the vague outline of Professor Gregorovitch just to his right. With a smirk, Harry watched as his Professor was hit by two of the rods he sent back. He could see that the Professor had wobbled a bit, before crumpling onto the floor.

"Got you!" Harry smirked, banishing away the rest of the dust cloud, only to find that the figure he had hit was not Professor Gregorovitch, but rather a mannequin made to resemble him.

Before he could say or do anything, he felt a blunt force hitting him from behind, and then everything turned black.

Petyr Gregorovitch smiled, as he vanished the aegis that Harry had ingeniously used to protect one side of his vision. The young man had gone through leaps and bounds in the past few weeks of training, and reminded the man of himself under Dumbledore's tutelage. Harry had adapted quickly to the simple exercise they had been doing as training. The task was simple, which was that the two casters had to retransfigure whatever their opponent sent towards them. A back and forth transfiguration duel, to define it much simpler. Harry had soaked it all in, and while they had encountered some issues of Harry sticking to a handful of transfiguration patterns, which was mostly the usage of small animals, they had been able to break through that quick enough. Now, Petyr was proud to say that his apprentice had become quite a formidable opponent, although still very predictable.

With a quick _rennervate_ spell, Harry groggily sat up with a groan. With a sigh, he stood up and faced his professor, who was nodded at him, "Good work in predicting the delayed attack from the javelin, although your methods could still use some work."

"I thought that having the aegis to guard one of my sides would help, but it seems to have been the cause of my defeat, right?"

Petyr nodded, "Once I found out that you had a shield of some sort, I knew you would leave that side unprotected."

"But a mannequin? Really?" Harry whined, rubbing the back of his head. It was sore, and throbbing, which Harry knew was the precursor of another bruise. Saying that he had gotten used to it was an understatement, but every new bruise was a new lesson learned.

Petyr smirked, "You lost to it, didn't you?"

"I didn't lose to it!" Harry huffed, pushing his spectacles up, "I lost _because_ of it."

"The point is, Harry, that you got complacent. Arrogant, even. In a real fight, not a duel mind you, but a fight, you would have lost your life right there."

Harry grimaced at that. Every time he lost, he was reminded how easy it was for his enemies to kill him. The thought bothered him, and caused some of his sleepless nights. Not because he worried for himself, but the thought of his friends being wholly unprepared compared to him. Harry knew he could defend himself quite well, and while he had not won against professor Gregorovitch at all in the past two months, he could say that he can beat anybody else who was less skilled than his battle transfiguration professor, which was around ninety-five percent of the Wizarding population. His friends, however skilled they are in their other classes, were within that ninety-five percent, which worried him.

Petyr could see the downward spiral that Harry was getting into, and added, "But your technique was new and unique, and using the dust cloud to your advantage was a good show." Rubbing his chin for a moment, Petyr continued, "I think we will begin a new lesson starting next week."

"A new lesson?"

"Yes," Petyr nodded, and started pacing, "Do you know how and why I caught you off-guard?"

Harry thought for a moment, "Well, you made me think that the mannequin was you. Once I got that down, I thought I had you and got complacent."

Petyr smirked, "Well, that's one of the reasons. Can you think of anything else?"

The misdirection was definitely what threw Harry off. He had never seen anyone, not even while dueling with Sirius or Remus, use a tactic like that. It was phenomenal in Harry's eyes, and something he was going to be using in the near future, given the opportunity. However, anything else was lost to him. Except for, "Movement. You moved."

"Yes. I did move, and that caught you by surprise, especially since I appeared where you didn't think I would be."

Harry nodded. Movement was key to winning, especially since a moving target was hard to hit. However, moving while transfiguring was not ideal from what he had read. It's hard enough trying to transfigure in the middle of a fight, and adding movement was almost impossible.

"No, it's not impossible, Harry," Petyr gave Harry a small smile, "I can see what you're thinking, Harry. As your friends have told you, I'm sure, that you wear your heart on your sleeve. Your emotions, they are something you will need to temper sooner or later."

Harry grimaced, "So movement while transfiguring. It seems impossible-I mean, it's highly frowned upon."

"What did we say about that word, Harry?"

"Magic defies impossible."

"Therefore it's possible. I can do it, so can you."

Harry looked at his professor, and could see the monumental trust he had for him. When they first started his training, most of everything he could do now he had deemed impossible. For one, it was impossible to be creative and fast while transfiguring, but he had defied that after a few days, especially since he was keen on not getting anymore bruises on him. Then, he had deemed it impossible to transfigure multiple elements together, such as the swarm of bees his professor had sent towards him. Yet, as he had shown today, it was possible. Hard, but possible.

"Are we starting again?" Harry asked. Even though the back of his head throbbed like a truck had hit him, he was eager to try again. It was what endeared him to Professor Gregorovitch, his trait of never giving up.

Petyr shook his head, checking the watch on his wrist, "No time, Harry. Your classmates should be getting ready to enter Hogwarts soon for dinner and the selection of champions."

Nodding, Harry quickly summoned his sling bag, and started exiting the room. Professor Gregorovitch always let him leave first, while he cleaned up their mess. The classroom they were using was inside the ship, and one of the unused ones during the afternoon. It was close to the room that was given to him for the duration of Durmstrang's stay at Hogwarts, so with a quick turn towards the right corridor, Harry opened the door to his room and threw his bag onto the small armchair beside his desk.

Walking into his bathroom, Harry took a quick shower that soothed some of his already aching muscles. Finishing his routine, he dried himself with a spare towel, and opened the door back to his room to reveal Aleksander and Viktor sitting on his bed and staring at him with a smirk.

Aleksander wolf-whistled at his half-naked torso and smirked, "Damn, Harry. Is this what battle transfiguration do to your body, or did you transfigure it yourself?"

Viktor laughed out loud, while Harry threw the towel that was wrapped around his waist at Aleksander. Viktor almost choked at seeing Harry do that, but sighed in relief when he saw Harry already wearing boxers beneath his towel.

"Did you expect a show, Viktor?" Harry smirked at the surly Bulgarian, while grabbing a fresh set of school robes that were hanging in the small closet beside his bed.

Viktor grunted, "I could look into a mirror for a better show, Potter."

Aleksander laughed, while Harry could only shake his head. It was true that out of all the boys in his year, Viktor was most probably the best in shape. Harry followed afterwards, but that was only because the rest of the boys in his year, or even in the Wizarding World, did not adhere much to exercise. Viktor maintained his physique due to Quidditch and his slight obsession with calisthenics. Harry, however, had always enjoyed morning runs around Durmstrang grounds, which subsequently maintained his body well.

Brushing off the stray lint that was on his cloak, Harry proceeded to usher everyone out of his room, and into the small study are that was provided by the school for the students. Just like Durmstrang castle, the ship they had arrived in had two halls for both boys and girls to stay in separately, which was connected by a small study area filled with desks, chairs, and even sofas adjacent a fireplace.

The whole Durmstrang contingent seems to have gathered around the front entrance. They were in two lines, one for the boys and one for the girls. Aleksander took the lead, while Harry was left to be the last person in the line.

As everyone seemed to settle down, Harry saw a scowling Karkaroff standing in front of the lines, flanked by the rest of the professors. Harry noticed most of the professor that had joined them had grim faces, most likely already thinking about the ramifications of the tournament. From the Highmaster's speech during the opening feast of Durmstrang, he had made sure to iterate that everyone in the seventh year is obligated to submit their name. Of course, Highmaster Karkaroff had made the provision for those seventh years who would like to opt out, but by the way he had addressed the issue, nobody dared opting out.

"Tonight, one of you will be chosen to represent the school," the Highmaster started, glowering at each student, especially those in front of the line. The pregnant pause carried a heavy weight, and Harry knew that the champion for Durmstrang will be in, not just of the glory of Durmstrang, but for the glory of Highmaster Igor Karkaroff.

"Once chosen, you will be given a new room, with an enchanted bookcase that can summon any book from our library back in Durmstrang. You it well. The glory of Durmstrang rests on your shoulders," the Highmaster finished gruffly, before sweeping around and spearheading their walk towards the Hogwarts Great Hall.

Harry just realized that while he was stuck training with Professor Gregorovitch, the rest of his year mates, his friends, were given leave to spend the day within Hogwarts. Harry had wanted to explore the old and mystical school, but had to find time later on to do it. For now, he'll settle with the stories he might have his friends tell him about the school and the students.

"The library is amazing, by the way, Harry," Kassandra, who had suddenly materialized behind the girl's line, whispered to him, "I remember you telling me to check it out for you."

Harry nodded, "How restricted is their restricted section?"

Kassandra had to stifle a snigger, "Simple wards, nothing a fourth year can't dismantle. Oh! Viktor also made a friend."

"Viktor? Friend?"

Viktor, who was right in front of Harry, coughed and cracked his knuckles, as though trying to intimidate Kassandra from telling Harry any further. Kassandra, for her part, only stuck her tongue out at Viktor, before continuing, "Yup! A bushy-haired girl. She's in seventh year as well, I think."

"Oh," Harry replied. Viktor did not make friends easy, especially since his fame followed him everywhere like a curse. There must've been something special about the girl to garner Viktor's interest.

"I think it's because most of the tables were full, and were staring and pointing at Vikky, here. The bushy-haired girl was the only one with open spots, and was weirdly not entranced by the broody charm of our resident Quidditch star."

Harry was about to reply, but was stopped as they finally arrived within the Great Hall. Everything was Halloween themed, and from what Harry can see, even some of the professors were into the celebration. As they sat down, he could see Dumbledore in his high-backed chair sporting what seems to be pumpkin-themed robes. The festivities didn't seem to reach to the woman sitting beside the Headmaster, Minerva McGonagall, if memory serves correct, who was casting a scowl at the smiling Headmaster.

The rest of the students at Hogwarts were also in a very festive mood, with the noisiest table being Gryffindor, where several pops, _oohs_ and _aahs_ were heard from. Harry was glad that they weren't placed to sit with that lot, even though the grim looking Slytherin students weren't any better at all.

Food started appearing soon after they had sat down, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the variety of Halloween themed items. Harry could not fully enjoy himself, however, and just ate the closest dishes to him. Halloween never was enjoyable for Harry, especially after he found out that it was the day that his parents were killed. However, he made sure to not be a downer, and tried his best to enjoy the day with his friends in mind.

After deserts were vanished away, Headmaster Dumbledore had the Goblet of Fire transported back from a different room into the Great Hall. The goblet was still burning bright, and become the only source of light as the room dimmed with a wave of the Headmaster's wand.

"Once chosen, each school champion shall proceed to the adjacent room and wait until the selection is over for further instructions," Dumbledore spoke in volumes, which echoed throughout the hall.

Dumbledore then approached the goblet, and caressed its sides. With a burst of flame, a parchment flew from the goblet and was caught by the Headmaster. Unfolding the still smoking small piece of parchment, the Headmaster's eyes rose before proclaiming, "The Champion of Durmstrang, Harry Potter!"

Harry was shell-shocked for a moment, before a grinning Aleksander and Kassandra patted him on the back and urged him to stand up. He could see Viktor, still surly, giving him a thumbs up, while Alanna just smiled at him encouragingly. Looking down the table, he saw Cadmus scowling at him, while the rest of his schoolmates clapped politely.

What caught him, however, were the whispers. _The_ Harry Potter? The Boy-Who-Lived? He could hear most of the Hogwarts students already creating their own story about how and why he was in Durmstrang. It seems he could hide from the limelight any longer, and instead had to embrace it, and eventually use it to his advantage. He was a snake in more than one facet, after all.

Smiling politely at the crowd, he stood up and started to walk down the hall to meet his Highmaster, who was suspiciously smiling widely at him. Reaching the dais, Harry was immediately turned towards the adjacent door, and went into it.

The room was filled with trophies, and from what he could see, some of them were very very old and dusty. It seemed like the perfect place to convene the champions of each school, reminding them of the glory they have achieved already by being chosen, and will achieve if they win.

Before Harry could look around further, the door opened once more to reveal a smiling Fleur. Harry smiled back, and they met in the middle with a hug, before Harry released her, _"It seems you got chosen as well. I won't go easy on you just because you're a girl, you know."_

Fleur smirked at Harry, and countered, _"Don't underestimate me. You'd be surprised at what this girl can do!"_

Their banter was disturbed once again by the door opening, revealing a smiling Hogwarts student whose robes were trimmed yellow, Hufflepuff, Harry assumed.

"Hi, name's Cedric," the boy had his hand out for a shake, which was taken immediately by Harry who smiled back, "Harry Potter."

Fleur took his hand as well, "Fleur Delacour."

Cedric seemed dazed for a moment, before his face reddened, "S-sorry, should've put my Occlumency up beforehand."

Just then, a huge bang of the door startled all three school champions. In came all of the Heads of the respective schools, as well as the tournament organizers. Mister Crouch, introduced during last night's meal, led the charge and gathered the champions in the middle of the room.

Highmaster Karkaroff stood behind Harry, both of his hand rested on Harry's shoulders. Immediately, Harry noted that he didn't like his Highmaster being too nice to him. It felt fake, and really unpleasant.

"Congratulations to our champions. From this day forward, you will be tested to your limits. The first task is set on November twenty-fourth. You will not be given any details about this task, and you are not permitted to ask for help from your professors and any tournament officials," Barty Crouch Senior swept his gaze at the three champions, before continuing, "Since these tasks will be testing your limits, the champions are exempt from any schoolwork and any exams. Do not take these tasks lightly. The Ministry has ensured that they are much safer than the previous tournaments, however, the tasks are still some of the most dangerous that a Witch or Wizard can face. They are, as one might say, life or death situations."

With a nod as a dismissal, Harry was steered away from the rest of the champions and out of the door by his Highmaster. Exiting the door, he could see Professor Gregorovitch standing by the wall, waiting for them. The Highmaster did not seemed pleased at this, but before Petyr could rescue Harry, the Highmaster leaned down and grunted, "You will do your best, or else."

The Highmaster stalked off, while Petyr urged Harry to walk beside him out of the Great Hall. There was a moment of silence between them, before Petyr broke it, "Did Igor give his 'or else' speech?"

"If you could call it a speech, professor."

Petyr laughed at that, "Well, it seems our training just got a little bit complicated, wouldn't you agree?"

Harry nodded. His training before was focused on trying to master battle transfiguration. Now, however, he had the added weight of succeeding in the Tri-Wizard tasks. Although deep down, all Harry wanted was to survive the whole way through.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Serpent of Durmstrang**

A/N: This is a rewrite of the Dragon of Durmstrang, where mistakes were made and are going to be corrected, while the story and writing will be improved. This is also my NaNoWriMo prep story, so all reviews are appreciated. Also, all my works are down at the moment. They will all be rewritten one at a time, so do not fret!

 **Chapter Nine**

Harry wiped his face with the small towel he had brought with him. His morning runs were still a part of his daily routine, even here at Hogwarts. In fact, he enjoyed the Hogwarts grounds more than the misty Durmstrang one, especially since he could use the Black Lake's shoreline as his pseudo track.

The sun had just barely peaked through the sky, but Harry was already panting and sweating like a pig. He took off his clothes and gave a long sigh as the cold soft breeze kissed his bare skin. He slowly walked towards the small rock outcrop he had placed his water bottle at, not wasting time trying to summon it.

Adjusting his wrist-holder for his wand, sweat already pooling around the leather straps, he loosened them which elicited a _sigh_ from the raven-haired teen. When he had first started his runs, he had actually taken his wand holster off, which resulted to his getting stunned and hogtied by Sirius. That was back when they had first started staying in the Black property on the Italian Peninsula. He learned his lesson. Constant vigilance, after all.

He grabbed the bottle and squeezed, letting the droplets of water cascade down his exposed torso. Harry sighed again, the cold water cooling his warm skin. He was about to pack up his stuff when a voiced called out behind him, _"Aw, the show's over, Mister Potter?"_

Harry turned back, his face heating up, and saw two figures just standing by the treeline. Zoe, if he recalled correctly, was bundled up quite warmly, with a thick cloak lined with white fur. Fleur accompanied her friend, wearing almost the same, except hers had a hood with her cloak.

" _Just finishing up here,"_ Harry finally found his voice, _"Up for an early stroll?"_

Zoe nodded, approaching Harry's position, while Fleur was a little more hesitant before following suit. The dark haired Beauxbaton's student was more brazen, from what Harry can tell, and seemed to be very upfront and had no filter for herself. She reminded him of Aleksander a lot, which was not necessarily a good thing.

Zoe eyed him up and down, nodding in approval after a few moments, _"Fleur and I like to take this time to just walk around and talk. The weekend mornings are usually the least busiest at Beauxbatons, and Hogwarts too apparently."_

" _Yeah, Durmstrang is the same. Students are rarely morning people,"_ Harry chuckled, remembering the times where Aleksander and Viktor had wanted to join his workout sessions. Suffice to say they never asked him to wake them up ever again.

There was a pregnant pause, and Harry stood there unsure of what to do or say next. Fog rolled in through the lake, creeping slowly, which made the atmosphere much colder, and Harry shivering. Fleur couldn't help it any longer and coughed. Zoe turned towards her, smirking, while still keeping an eye on Harry who she could see was not at all comfortable by the silence. Taking pity on both of them, she finally started, _"Anyway, Fleur and I were wondering if you would like to join us in...what do they call it...Hogsmeade? Later on today? This girl has talked a lot about you,"_ nudging the poor girl, as Fleur sputtered, _"and as her friends, we would like to get to know you as well."_

Harry scratched his head, unsure of what to say. In the end, he nodded, _"Sure, I don't think I'll be doing anything afterwards,"_ draping the towel over his shoulders, he continued, _"Where and what time shall we all meet up?"_

" _In two hours, just outside our carriage."_

" _Sounds good! I'll see you both later,"_ Harry waved a goodbye, letting go of the breath he did not know he was holding.

As they watched Harry walk back towards the direction of the Durmstrang ship, Fleur nudged Zoe hard enough that the girl stumbled, _"Why the hell did you do that?"_

" _Do what?"_ Zoe replied with a smirk, crossing her arms and raising her chin proudly.

" _Invite him? You…"_

" _Oh please, Amelie and I-"_

" _No, you don't! You're doing it again! You can't just keep butting into our lives and do whatever you want! You're…"_ Fleur huffed, and turned away from Zoe. Her chest was rising and falling in a fast pace, while her palms were starting to let off steam. Her Veela blood boiled, and she used the breathing technique taught by her mother to calm herself down.

Zoe slowly came up to Fleur, and poked her shoulder, _"Fleur, I invited him because Amelie and I want to get to know the boy you had so often talked about the last two months. That's all, I promise."_

Slowly, Fleur was finally able to maintain a steady pace of breath. She thanked her mother for buying her the dragon-hide gloves she was wearing, which was resistant even to Veela fire. She turned towards her Zoe, who her her puppy-dog eyes ready.

" _Fine, but you do not get to be a matchmaker,"_ Fleur stood her ground on this issue with a fierce huff. She and Amelie had been the targets of Zoe's penchant for matchmaking, and suffice to say there was a reason they were all still single.

" _Deal!"_

While Fleur and Zoe were amiably walking back towards their carriage, Harry was similarly having problems with his friends. After taking a quick shower to freshen up, Harry had put on a gray sweater, and slim fitting jeans. Taming his hair unsuccessfully, he was now outside Viktor's room knocking.

After a few seconds of no answer, Harry slowly poked his head into the room. From his position, he saw Viktor's form snoring loudly, the sound only cancelled by the silencing charms on the walls and door. With Viktor out of the equation, Harry quickly went to Aleksander's room, and peaked, not even bothering to knock. Similarly, Aleksander was cuddling his own sheets, which would have been a cute sight if he were five. At seventeen, he looked ridiculous.

Closing the door as quietly as he could, he started to make his way into the small study area the students shared. It seems he was going to meet with Fleur and her friends alone, and the thought somewhat scared him. He was friends with Fleur, and while her friends seemed to be decent people, he still could not help a shudder. Amelie seemed like a nice girl, but Zoe was not someone to be trifled with. The girl gave Harry the shivers, especially how brazen she was.

"Harry!"

Harry was almost out the door, but turned around after hearing Alanna's voice calling him. Kassandra was with the girl, and both were dressed for winter wear, sporting sweaters with Durmstrang colours, and jeans with matching boots.

"Hey, where are you guys off to this early?"

"We wanted to visit the Hogwarts library. Last time we went we didn't have time to actually take a look around," Kassandra replied, brushing a stray hair off her cheek, "what about you?"

Harry scratched the back of his head, "Well, I was asked by Fleur's friends if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with them. I said yes," before Kassandra could cut-in, Harry continued, "would you both like to go?"

Kassandra was already starting to say something, but was cut-off by Alanna, who held the girl's shoulders tightly, "No, you go and have fun! We need to meet this Fleur soon too, okay?"

Harry nodded, his face dropping just a little. He was hoping some of his friends would go, maybe to help ease up some awkwardness. But a look from Alanna made him realize that maybe having his friends around would make it even more awkward. Kassandra's temper was legendary, and she was quite easy to rile up. Having both Kassandra and Zoe together might not be the best idea.

"Alright. Well, I'll see you both later then!"

With a smile, Harry left the ship and started his way towards the Beauxbatons carriage. It wasn't far, and it seems the fog has lifted somewhat, making it easier to navigate through the brushes and trees around the lake. He kept a steady pace, and while his face betrayed nothing, Harry's stomach felt like he had eaten a handful of butterflies, which were all fluttering about. With a long breath, he steadied himself. This wasn't a date with Fleur, it was just an outing with her and her friends. In fact, when did it even become remotely a date? It was Zoe who asked him, not Fleur. With that in mind, his stomach settled somewhat.

" _Harry, over here!"_

Harry saw the group of French girls all wearing winter cloaks with their signature powder blue school colours. Fleur seemed to be behind Zoe, speaking hurriedly with Amelie, while Zoe furiously waved at him. Harry waved back with a small smile, before jogging to meet up with them.

" _Ready?"_

" _When you are,"_ Harry replied, then turning to both Fleur and Amelie _, "Hi Fleur, hello Amelie!"_

" _Hello, Harry!"_ Both of them replied with a smile, before they all started making their way towards the Hogwarts gates.

" _So, tell us about yourself,"_ Zoe glanced at him, before smirking, _"we might have heard lots from Fleur, but it never beats to hear it from the man himself."_

Harry glanced at a blushing Fleur, who had playfully shoved Zoe, _"Uhm, I suppose you know my name, my school, and my age,"_ Harry replied rather lamely, to the amusement of all the girls, _"I can say I like playing Quidditch, even though Viktor always beats me when we play against each other. My best subject is Transfigurations, and I'm hoping to finish my mastery over in a few years."_

" _Oh yes, Fleur did say something about that. Battle Transfiguration, was it?"_

" _Yeah, I'm currently studying under Petyr Gregorovitch, and possibly Albus Dumbledore as well."_

" _No! Really? Dumbledore is going to be teaching you?"_

" _Yup!"_ Harry nodded, the shock and awe of having someone being taught by the famous Albus Dumbledore was not new to him. His friends had the same expressions when they first met the old man, _"Not as much as Professor Gregorovitch, but Albus had said he will be taking over sometimes."_

As they reached the front gates of the school, they spotted the carriages that carried the students to the village all lined up. Approaching the first few ones, they saw a half-empty carriage that was filled by Beauxbatons students. Quicker than anything Harry had ever seen, Zoe was already in the first empty seat, while Amelie was in the second.

" _There seems to be no more room. You both don't mind catching the next one, right?"_ Zoe smiled sweetly at both Harry and Fleur. Harry for his part, just nodded and turned to look for the next carriage. Fleur, on the other hand, was glaring daggers at both Zoe and Amelie. Zoe gave her friend a playful smirk, while Amelie whispered _sorry_ before smiling softly.

" _Fleur, this one seems empty,"_ Harry waved her over, with the door already open. Fleur sighed and calm herself before heading in his direction.

Harry helped Fleur into the carriage, and hopped in himself. Finally sitting down opposite to Fleur, he finally realized what situation he was in. He a heavy inward sigh, he cursed Zoe's name. Him and Fleur had been set-up.

" _I'm sorry about this, Harry. I did tell you how much of a handful my friends are, especially Zoe."_

" _Don't worry about it, Aleksander would do the same, you know,"_ Harry placated the girl, giving her his best nervous smile. Fleur returned the smile with her own, and they settled into a silencing.

" _So...how has your term been so far?"_ Harry asked, and if he was being honest, quite stupidly. It was reinforced by the fact that Fleur chuckled a bit after he had asked the question.

" _Not too bad. It's mostly been seventh year classes, although now I also have the Tri-Wizard tasks on top of that."_

" _Yeah, I hear you. It's only been a week since we got chosen, and the work is already overloading me somewhat. But that's on top of my mastery training."_

Fleur perked up, _"Oh! How has your training been so far?"_

Harry rubbed the latest bruise he had gotten from his training, and winced, _"Professor Gregorovitch has been running me hard after my name came out of the goblet. It's...not pleasant."_

Fleur frowned, noticing the wince Harry had when he rubbed his forearm. Whipping out her wand, she gave Harry a do-not-question-me stare and said firmly, _"Show me."_

Knowing that arguing would do him no good, Harry rolle dup his sweater sleeve. The black-ish red bruise was the size of an egg, but thankfully was not swelling. Fleur inched forward, and studied the bruise for a moment, before casting a charm on it that helped the blood flow and reduced the blood clot.

" _That...feels better! What spell was that?"_ Harry asked with wide-eyes, rubbing his bruised forearm, and looking back at Fleur inquisitively.

Before Fleur could answer, their carriage came to a sudden stop, and Fleur was thrown into Harry.

" _Sorry, I didn't even know we had started moving!"_ Fleur pulled herself back and looked out the small window of the carriage. They were definitely not at the Hogwarts gates anymore.

" _Me neither, but I guess we're here!"_ With a smile, Harry opened the door of the carriage and motioned for Fleur to exit first. Fleur smiled back and took Harry's hand as she exited, before being followed by Harry.

Looking around, they saw the small village seemed to just be waking up. The stores were barely lit, and the streets only had a handful of people milling about. The noisiest establishment seemed to be a pub of some sort, with loud music and yelling echoing through the early morning streets.

" _Where's Zoe and Amelie,"_ Fleur muttered to herself, not noticing that Harry had planted himself beside her, both hands in his pockets.

" _I think they might have planned this,"_ Harry echoed her thoughts, feeling the butterflies in his stomach come back with a vengeance. He glanced at Fleur, who was still looking around for her friends. It was now or never, he surmised, _"You know what, let's just enjoy the day."_

Fleur looked back at Harry, whom she could see was chewing his lip in anticipation. She herself had been nervous being left alone with Harry. It wasn't because she didn't trust him, but more so because he was a boy, and one she actually liked speaking and spending time with.

With a nod, Fleur smiled back tentatively, _"We should. Where do you want to go first?"_

" _I wanted to check out Honeydukes Sweetshop. I hear they have a great selection!"_

" _Sounds like a plan. Afterwards, can we visit the quill shop? I need to stock up,"_ Fleur replied, making a mental list of what she needed to buy.

Harry nodded, and they both started their way towards Honeydukes. The place only had a few customers, mostly Beauxbaton students. They still did not see a hair on both Zoe and Amelie, but in the end they decided that they'll see them later on. Harry browsed through the shop and bought a small bag of Chocolate Frogs for Aleksander, and a variety of other sweets for the rest of his friends. Fleur got some Sugar Quills, and was paid for by Harry, to Fleur's embarrassment.

Scrivenshafts was less populated, and it seems that only Fleur and Harry were the customers that early. The store was layered in dust, to Harry's dismay and Fleur's enjoyment as he sneezed every three steps. Fleur grabbed a few quills and a stack of extra parchment, which was once again paid for by Harry, with much resistance from Fleur.

" _Fancy grabbing Brunch at the pub?"_ Harry asked as they finally left Scrivenshafts, much to Harry's delight.

" _I don't see why not."_

They both entered the pub, and the smell of butterbeer interlaced with Fish and Chips hit both of them like a truck. Finding a corner booth, Harry and Fleur quickly took their spots as they saw more and more students come in.

"What can I get for you two today?" the barmaid materialized out of nowhere, smiling at both of them. Harry could not help but notice her curvy features, and compare them to Fleur's own features, which he mentally decided was the better of the two.

"I'll get a Shepherd's Pie, and two butterbeers for the both of us," Harry replied, while Fleur indicated she wanted the same as what Harry had ordered.

As the barmaid left their table to serve another, Harry quickly placed silencing charms around them to protect them from eavesdroppers. Fleur saw this, and raised an eyebrow.

" _Sorry,"_ Harry muttered, _"Force of habit."_

" _You can't be too careful, I suppose,"_ Fleur smiled reassuringly at Harry, _"So, I didn't want to ask, but I am very curious...do you know about the first task?"_

Harry raised his own eyebrow at the question. Technically, they weren't supposed to know anything about the First Task of the tournament. From what Harry understood, however, the schools generally cheated.

" _Do you know about it?"_

Fleur gave him a look, _"Drag-"_

" _-ons"_

" _So you did know!"_ Fleur stuck her tongue out at Harry.

Harry laughed at her antics, _"Yup! And you were just about to tell me! That's cheating, you know…"_

" _I just didn't want you-"_ Fleur caught herself, before blushing just a tinge, _"I didn't want you to be unnecessarily injured, or worse."_

Harry nodded at that. The weight of the Tri-Wizard tasks were heavy, and the price of not being prepared was death. Certain, and agonizing death.

" _How are you? I mean, how are you dealing with all of this?"_

Fleur sighed, placing her hand on her forehead, rubbing her temples in the process, _"I can't lie. It's been very stressful. This is probably the only day off I'll get until after the First Task. And my family is both proud and worried, they send me letters almost every day."_

" _Yeah, I hear you. I don't think I'll be getting any pause from my training until after this task as well. And both my godfather and my pseudo-uncle have sent me tips and tricks on how to deal with big overgrown lizards."_

" _Truth be told, I'm not sure about all of this any more. When they first told us about this competition at Beauxbatons, I was determined to be chosen, to prove myself. But now, I don't know anymore...Is it eternal glory really worth all of this?"_

" _It's not. But we're here, and all we can do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best,"_ Harry took Fleur's hand into his and gave them a squeeze, _"If you ever need anything, Fleur, all you have to do it ask, okay?"_

Fleur nodded, and all her doubts seemed to vanish as she gazed at Harry's confident smile. She had been very stressed prior today, and now that she was with him, able to share all of her worries and stress, and finally being able to vent out, she felt better. And with her hand in Harry's, she was confident she would be able to get through this.

Harry saw the confidence slowly ebb back into Fleur's eyes and demeanour. He was glad he could pick her up when she was down, but in all honesty, he himself used his own words to pick himself back up. For all his friends had done to help him, he felt they just could not understand everything that he was going through at this point. All the worries and stress, the pressure to do well, and most importantly, to survive. Sitting here with Fleur, being able to talk about it with someone who knew what he was feeling, he felt relief. They both knew what challenges they will be facing, and after today, they will both be ready, not just to survive, but to do their best to win.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Serpent of Durmstrang**

A/N: This is a rewrite of the Dragon of Durmstrang, where mistakes were made and are going to be corrected, while the story and writing will be improved. This is also my NaNoWriMo prep story, so all reviews are appreciated. Also, all my works are down at the moment. They will all be rewritten one at a time, so do not fret!

 **Chapter Ten**

The day had been sunny, and had generally been a good day for everyone except for the respective champions of each school. The wand-weighing ceremony had been done relatively quick the week before, and now they were all gathered once more just by the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. The Ministry seemed to have built, quite quickly, a stadium to hold the first of the three tasks of the tournament. It was oval shaped, and about the size of a Quidditch pitch.

Before Harry had walked into the champion's tent, he could see how flimsy the stadium looked, and was surprised that it was able to be built in such a short time. Magic can do mind boggling and wondrous things, and this was definitely one of them.

Harry fought a shudder running through his body. He made sure to stay seated by one of the benches, opting not to stand like Cedric, who seemed to be pacing back and forth and muttering to himself. Fleur was also seated adjacent from him, seemingly staring really hard at the cold grassy ground.

The pressure in the room was intense, with Harry sweating and his palms clammy and white as a sheet. He was tapping his foot softly on a solitary pebble, making a random rhythm that even he would not remember by the time the event started. A soft breeze swept through the tent flaps, making Harry's stomach churn even more.

He had been practicing for this for the past few weeks. The bruises on his shoulders were a testament to that. While Professor Gregorovitch seemed to have taken their training to a whole new level, Harry was sure that he had been sapped out of all his magical reserved every after training. His lack of energy, and grogginess usually marked the end of every session. Overall, Harry was still not sure if he could do this, after all, dragons were not meant to be faced one on one.

As he watched Cedric pace back and forth, unconsciously scratching his head as he tapped his wand on his thigh. He was certain that Fleur had been preparing to face a dragon, since Madame Maxime had informed her subtly about the task. Highmaster Karkaroff has sent him books about the subject, which clued him quite blatantly. However, he wasn't sure how inclined the Hogwarts staff are at cheating. He had thought about telling the sandy-haired teen, but with all the training and some of the classes he had decided to still attend, he had forgotten about it all together.

"Gather around, champions," a man wearing a bowler-type hat entered the tent, along with the Heads of each school. Dumbledore went towards Cedric and patted the boy on the shoulder, while Madame Maxime favoured Fleur a rare smile. His own Highmaster merely stood beside him, as gaunt as ever.

"The first task is all about testing your courage in the face of tantamount adversity. In this bag," Crouch untied the small satchel hanging in his hip and gave it a shake, "are three miniature dragons. Each champion will take turns randomly choosing one. Whichever you choose will determine your turn placement."

Crouch paused, watching each of the competitors eyeing the small bag he had in his hand. However, he failed to see any surprise from any of them besides the Hogwarts champion. He shook his head, having some idea as to why, "You will face the dragon you have chosen, but your task is simply to take the golden egg in its nest. All magic save Dark or the Unforgivables are allowed. Now, if you'd please Mister Diggory?"

Cedric shuffled forward, and slowly reached into the bag. He winced, before seemingly grabbing onto one of the miniatures and pulling it out.

"Ah, the Swedish Short-snout. You'll go first, Mister Diggory," then turning to Fleur, Crouch continued, "Miss Delacour?"

Fleur eyed the small bag, and was hesitant to put her hands in. With a long breath, she finally reached in and quickly caught one.

"Oh ho! The Common Welsh Green, that'll be a challenge. You'll be in second," Crouch announced, before finally turning to Harry, "Last but not the least, Mister Potter."

Harry didn't hesitate at all, and simply snatched up the last occupant of the small bag. He felt a sting, and opened his enclosed palm revealing a spike-adorned dragon, menacingly roaring at everything.

"The Hungarian Horntail, you'll be the last one then, Mister Potter," Crouch looked at Harry his beady eyes, before rounding towards the rest of the group, "At the sound of the cannon-"

 _Boom!_

"-the first contestant will make their way out," Crouch finished his sentence as though the cannon had not fired at all, "Mister Diggory, if you'd please," motioning for Cedric to get to the exit that led to the stadium.

Cedric took his place and stood by the tent flaps as the heads of the school plus Mister Crouch and a disgruntled looking Ludo Bagman walked out first to take their seats in the judge's podium.

" _You alright, Fleur?"_

Fleur glanced at Harry, giving him a small smile. Her eyes had bags under them, while her hair was messy, which was a sight not commonly seen with Fleur, who always looked immaculate. She had given up staring a hole through the ground, and instead was inspecting her wand and polishing it at the same time.

" _Nervous...how about you?"_

" _Very nervous, my hands are shaking, see?"_ Harry opened his clenched palms to show just how pale they were, and the cold sweat that coated them, _"We'd be stupid if we weren't nervous at all."_

" _That's true,"_ Fleur gave Harry an uneasy smile, _"Do you have a plan, at least?"_

Harry nodded, _"I've been trying to get it to work, hopefully it's successful."_

" _Wait, you're not sure?"_

" _Well,"_ Harry scratched the back of his head, _"everything will depend on circumstance, I suppose."_

" _Just...be safe, okay?"_

" _You too, Fleur,"_ Harry replied, and with a nervous grin, he continued, _"I'm not sure if it's just my nerves talking, but I was wondering if you'd like to go to Hogsmeade sometime after this task?"_

" _Ask me that after you come back...alive,"_ Fleur gave him a small smile, and Harry nodded enthusiastically. That was better than he had expected, and it gave him the motivation he will need to pull his strategy off. He needed to come back alive, after all.

There was a roar from the stadium, which Harry assumed was Diggory successfully getting the egg. Up until now, there had been no sound coming from the stadium, and the only other sounds that had been allowed to filter in was the cannon.

True enough, after a minute or so, the cannon shot blasted once again, and Fleur was immediately up on her feet. She gave Harry a small wave, before taking a deep breath and walking through the tent flaps that led to the stadium.

Harry watched her leave, and could see her steps were rigid. He couldn't blame her, facing a dragon was never meant to be a task for one witch or wizard. Harry couldn't shake the feeling of worry though, and had stood up and started pacing as he waited for the cheers and screams that went with Fleur successfully finishing the task. There was a tiny voice in the back of his mind that was telling him to take a peek, but he squashed it down immediately. The champions were instructed to not peek, or else face a huge penalty. Harry was not going to chance it, and put all of his faith in Fleur to finish the task safe and sound.

A loud cheer resounded through the tent once again, and Harry couldn't help but let out a huge sigh of relief. His heart had been pounding so hard that he felt it might just burst out of his chest as each minute went by waiting the cheers that told him Fleur had succeeded and survived.

Taking another deep breath, Harry stood up and started his way towards the exit. He started stretching his legs, loosening up the muscles as much as he can. With the plan he had in mind, he had to be in his best shape, or risk being barbecued at best, dragon food at worst.

"And here comes our final champion, Harry Potter!" Harry could hear the announcement by Ludo Bagman, and slowly made his way out of the the tent.

The sunlight hit Harry on the face, and he had to block it out with his left hand, while his right had his wand already at the ready. He could hear the crowd cheering and screaming as he finally stepped through the small opening into the stadium. From what he could see, the whole place was covered in rock outcrops, creating what looked like a jagged deathtrap.

Across from Harry, he could see the Hungarian Horntail, with it's shimmering black scaled, and yellow eyes with vertical pupils. The dragon had bronze horns and similarly coloured spikes that protrude from its long tail which Harry knew he had to watch out for. From what he could see, the dragon was observing his every move, watching with one of its eye as its head was turned sideways. Below the dragon, Harry could see the next with the golden eggs smack in the middle of it, surrounded by the other eggs of the dragon.

Slowly, Harry made his way to his right, keeping an eye on the dragon that seemed to be more interested in doing the same. He flicked his wand and quickly summoned his broom, before continuing his trek towards the bigger rock outcrops.

The Hungarian Horntail seemed to be interested in him, but was more preoccupied with guarding her eggs. Harry didn't complain, and instead started casting blasting curses at the huge boulders around him, dislodging some and making smaller chunks. This seemed to be too much for the dragon, especially with the huge explosive sounds reverberating around the stadium.

The Horntail finally stood up from its position, and faced Harry, placing herself in between her nest of eggs. Eyeing Harry, the dragon roared loudly, shaking Harry and making him stumble. He held onto a pillar of stone to keep himself up, and kept blasting the stone around as he kept moving.

Without warning, the dragon stood up on her hind legs and bellowed out loud. Harry was stunned for a moment, before realizing what was going to happen, and immediately ducked to take cover. In less than a second, the huge boulder he had taken refuge behind had become so hot that Harry had to disengage from it. As the dragon fire ebbed away, Harry could only steel himself as he saw the huge boulder had been melted halfway by the stream of dragon fire.

"This better work, or I'm definitely dead," Harry grumbled, as he used the dragon trying to recover herself from breathing a huge stream of fire to keep moving and blasting the rocks around him. He was leaving a trail of small to medium dislodged boulders as he went, and he was now halfway across the stadium from where he had started.

The Hungarian Horntail followed his every move, but not withholding any dragon fire. For Harry, it had felt like almost an hour had passed, but in reality only a few minutes have gone by since he had started his massive _Bombarda_ spell chain. He was sweating really hard, his back was drench, and his front was no better. All the spell casting had taken a toll on his body, and his broomstick was nowhere in sight still.

Just then, a whistling sounds could be heard from above the stadium. Towards the Black Lake side, he could see his broom zooming towards him, and he could only hope that he had made enough rubble for the spell he had wanted to use.

On instinct, Harry held his hand out and his broom planted itself on his palm. His Firebolt was a sight for sore eyes, and quicker than ever, he mounted and zoomed up into the sky. From his vantage point, he could see the crowd had been cheering, at least in action because he could hear nothing from them. It seems there was a silencing barrier across the stadium, which deafened sound for the champions.

As Harry flew around the stadium, the dragons eyes never left him. With another roar, the Horntail suddenly reared back and shot another burst of flames at Harry, which he narrowly dodged as the held onto his broom with one hand, and the other still had his wand gripped tightly.

Harry finished his dodged roll, and quickly whipped his wand in a circular motion and shot his spell down into the pile of dislodged boulders and rock fragments. Slowly, the ground started shaking, and all the stones started levitating, and coming together in en masse. After connecting together, the stones became an elongated mass of boulders, which then started transfiguring into a giant serpent. The skin still resembled the stone it was transfigured from, retaining the mass, weight and composition. The snake head looked like a jigsaw puzzle of rocks and stones, but moved seamlessly as though it were not made of such material.

The giant stone snake reared its head at the dragon, and quicker than what most would think a creature of such size and weight could do, it slithered towards the dragons and started wrapping itself around the creature.

Harry watched with awe, as he finally performed the spell he had been preparing for the last few weeks. He had gotten the idea from Slytherin house, especially since he had been subjected to their crests every single week day. He had been tipped off by his Highmaster about the stadium and its specifics, which led to him realizing that he could use the stones and boulders to his advantage.

If someone asked Harry if this was possible a year ago, he would have probably said no. Transfiguring multiple objects into a single mass was supposedly impossible in the eyes of general Transfiguration practitioners. Now, with all of Petyr's tutelage, he had been proven wrong, and he was never happier.

As the snake finally coiled itself fully around the dragon, rendering it immobile, Harry flew down towards the nest and quickly snatched the golden egg that was situated in the middle of the nest.

The dragon was still eyeing him with rage as it thrashed around, trying to get free of the large stone snake that had it pinned down. The snake hissed violently in return, and squeezed harder, making the Horntail roar in misery.

Harry felt himself getting weak, so he got onto his broom once more, and zoomed towards the exit. Just as he touched down, he looked back and saw the dragon being subdued by twelve witches and wizards. The dragon keepers, if he was correct, from Romania. His own stone snake creation started crumbling, since its caster had little magical power left within him.

"You did good, Harry," Professor Gregorovitch smiled, before catching Harry as he lost feeling in his legs.

Harry returned the smile, "All thanks to you, professor."

"Move! Move!" a matronly nurse pushed herself into the tent and saw Harry leaning on his professor. She quickly motioned for them to follow her.

Petyr quickly had Harry lean on him as a crutch as the three of them started towards the tent next over. After walking into it, Harry could see a smiling Fleur, while Cedric seemed to be in bed with half his body wrapped in bandages.

"Over there, lie him down," the nurse pointed to the third and only unoccupied bed as she busied herself towards a medical cabinet.

Harry was gently seated onto the bed, and he lied down, his body thanking him for it. He couldn't even lift a finger at this point, and his eyes were being held open by sheer will. He glanced towards Fleur, who seemed to be in good shape except for the bandages around her ankle.

"Here, take this," the nurse handed him a green-ish potion, which he immediately drank. He had a few run-ins before with Pepper-up, and he never liked the taste, but he can't argue that the effects were astounding. In less than a few minutes, Harry felt his energy coming back, and he sat up, to the chagrin of the nurse.

"Magical exhaustion, Mister Potter," the nurse commented, as she checked his temperature, "You'll do well with some bed rest today and tomorrow."

Harry nodded, and the nurse quickly went towards a groaning Cedric. Harry propped himself up, and smiled at Fleur, _"How did you do?"_

" _Not too bad. I was able to charm the dragon to sleep. But,"_ Fleur pointed to her bandaged ankle, _"the bastard snorted fire and burnt my uniform and my ankle in the process."_

" _Really?"_ Harry grinned, _"Well, I beat you then! See, no injuries!"_

" _Magical exhaustion, Mister Potter,"_ Fleur poked him on the chest, _"that counts!"_

" _Nuh-uh!"_

Fleur only shook her head, and a familiar silence came upon them. The task had been really dangerous, and from what had happened to Cedric, being unprepared was the worst thing that could happen to them. Fleur was glad that Madame Maxime had cheated and heavily hinted to her about the task. She wasn't sure what she would have done if she came into this task without knowing anything at all.

" _So… Fleur…"_

Fleur looked up to see a very hesitant Harry, who seemed to have started chewing his lip. She blushed herself, knowing what he was on about.

" _Uhm, well...you said to ask you after the task, so…"_

" _Yes?"_

" _Yes?" Harry perked up._

" _No, Harry, continue your thought,"_ Fleur smirked at the blustering young man in front of her. She knew her answer already, but that didn't mean she was going to make it easy for him.

" _Oh! I mean, would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me again?"_ Harry was finally able to spit it out, heavily blushing at this point, all his confidence thrown out the window.

Fleur watched him stew for a moment, enjoying the sight of him squirming at the thought of her reply.

" _Yes."_

" _Yes?"_

" _Don't make me repeat myself, Harry,"_ Fleur chided him, as she saw Harry smile a million watts. She couldn't help but feel just a bit lighter, and her heart fluttered just a little. Although she was not sure what this would lead, she was knew one thing though, and that was she had been waiting for this since their first trip to Hogsmeade, and she was looking forward for a repeat.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Serpent of Durmstrang**

A/N: This is a rewrite of the Dragon of Durmstrang, where mistakes were made and are going to be corrected, while the story and writing will be improved. This is also my NaNoWriMo prep story, so all reviews are appreciated. Also, all my works are down at the moment. They will all be rewritten one at a time, so do not fret!

 **Chapter Eleven**

The night after the First Task was quite possibly the best and worst for Harry Potter. The celebrations within the Durmstrang ship was something to remember, with booze being passed around like candy, and the professors turning a blind eye. To say the least, Harry did not get enough sleep, yet he had the best one so far these past few weeks.

The next two weeks after the task had most of everyone in Durmstrang scrambling around due to the exams that were scheduled just before the Christmas holidays. Harry was exempt from them, and therefore had the most time for himself. Viktor had cursed his name more than a couple of times already, while Kassandra had taken to glaring at him when they ever saw each other in the study lounge of the ship.

Harry took this time to unwind and relax, stowing away the Golden Egg from the first task, and instead taken to reading light novels. The pressure of the tournament weighing less, especially since the next task was scheduled for February, a long ways away in his opinion.

"Harry, do you want to join the team?"

"What?" Harry replied, causing Viktor to grumble and hit him on the back of the head.

"Stop spacing out. I was asking if you wanted to join the Durmstrang team for the Quidditch pick-up game tomorrow?"

Harry shook his head, "Can't, the Highmaster wouldn't be too happy about that."

"Fuck him, we need a good chaser," Viktor cursed, "and you're a good chaser, at least compared to the other blockheads in our year."

"Thanks for the compliment, I think?" Harry sighed. He had wanted to join the team they were building since Viktor was approached by a gangly red-headed seventh year from Gryffindor. Ronald, if he remembered the name correctly, wanted to, in the spirit of inter-school unity, host a pick-up of Quidditch between the three schools. From what he had heard, Beauxbatons was still very reluctant, especially since Quidditch was not one of their forte's, but Durmstrang, especially Viktor, was immediately gung-ho about it.

The second they had all come back from the ship that night, Viktor had immediately started drafting their year-mates into making a team, nitpicking the best and discarding the worst. And ever since that night, Viktor had pestered him about playing as their chaser, but a quick intervention by their Highmaster made sure Harry was not allowed to join in the fun.

Viktor stood up and stretched, eyeing Harry before a smirk played on his lips, "Well, you better head to bed, you have a big day tomorrow."

Harry nodded, his barely kept excitement was showing through a small smile, "Yes, that I do."

Both boys started heading towards their respective rooms. Harry more pensieve than ever, already thinking about his date with Fleur tomorrow. He had a rough plan on what they would be doing, and he was hoping it would go without a hitch.

As Harry turned to his door, Viktor stopped him with a hand on his shoulders, "Since you're not playing, you better come watch tomorrow afternoon."

"I will, promise!"

Viktor nodded, and let Harry walk inside his room. A quick _Tempus_ spell told Harry it was just past eleven, and he already knew he wasn't going to get any sleep that night. Tossing and turning, Harry replayed the worst possible scenarios that could happen the next day, and before he knew it, he had barely slept a wink and it was already dawn.

With a grunt, Harry stood up from his bed and started to prepare with a cold shower to wake himself up fully. A quick change of clothes, and he was as presentable as he can be. Wearing a grey-coloured sweater, with a white collared shirt inside. Harry rolled up his sleeves, trying his dragon-hide boots that was tucked underneath a dark blue pair of jeans. Harry was not the most fashionable, but he did well for himself.

A quick once over, and a nod, he finally deemed himself ready. Harry stepped outside of his room into a pitch-dark corridor. While it was the exam season, Harry knew most of the Durmstrang students, even the girls, were late risers during the weekend.

"You look surprisingly presentable."

Harry walked into the study lounge that led to the doors, and saw Aleksander smirking at him tiredly, while Kassandra and Alanna were behind him yawning quite loudly.

"You guys are up early," Harry quipped, nervously adjusting his collar, "What's the special occasion?"

"You are, you little shit," Aleksander spat back playfully, "look girls, he looks so grown up!"

Alanna nodded, "He does look very mature, I think she'll like it."

"Very plain looking, if you ask me," Kassandra scoffed, although taking a minute to drink Harry's choice of clothing.

"You guys are not making this easier, you know that, right?" Harry sighed, shuffling his foot left and right.

There was a momentary pause, before Aleksander walked up to Harry and gave him a slap on the back, "You will do fine, just be yourself!"

"She'll be chased away in no time," Kassandra nodded, "but if she doesn't, then you have a keeper."

Harry arched his eyebrow at that comment. He expected that from the rest of his friends, but not Kassandra, the girl who professed her growing affections for him just a few months ago. Kassandra saw his shocked stare, and smiled back softly with a nod. From that, Harry knew she was behind him no matter what her feelings are, it seems their talk got through to her.

"Go get her, lover boy!" Aleksander laughed, pushing Harry a little towards the door of the ship. He looked back, and couldn't help but smile widely at his friends. He was proud to call them his friends, even Viktor whom he knew was a heavy sleeper.

Before Harry left through the door, he called out, "I'll be watching the game later, so don't you you guys disappoint me!"

Quickly slipping out before any quip was made in return, Harry did his best to lengthen the time of his journey towards the Beauxbatons carriage. His face betrayed his steady gait, already chewing on his cheek while eyes stared straight into nothing. The butterflies seemed to be in full swing in his stomach, and his heart was not helping his nerves either.

As he finally neared the carriage, he could see that there was light pouring out from the windows. He was told yesterday by Fleur's friends to knock on the door when he arrived, and Fleur will be out shortly after. They had planned to leave early, keeping out of the crowd and the attention they were sure to attract if they left much later in the day.

With a soft knock, Harry patiently waited, his heart thumping heavily on his chest. He was sure Fleur had stood him up after the first three seconds, but was stumped at the door opened to reveal a smiling Fleur. Harry couldn't help but admire her visage, her black long-sleeve shirt and jeans were accented with a light-brown scarf. Harry assumed she had cast some heating charms on her outfit, especially since the English winters were unforgiving.

" _Wow...you look beautiful,"_ Harry blurted out, his face turning crimson after realizing what he had said.

Fleur turned a darker shade of pink, _"Thank you, you look really good as well,"_ she replied, before giggles could be heard from behind her.

Without warning, Zoe's head poked out of the door of the carriage and smirked at Harry, _"You better take good care of her, or else,"_ before making a scissor motion that made Harry cringe.

"Will do!" Harry replied with as much confidence as he could muster, before nervously taking Fleur's hand and leading her towards the carriages by the gates of the school. They were both quietly walking, with Harry setting a slow pace as they marveled at the serene landscape of a winter at Hogwarts.

As they approached the carriages, Harry finally broke the silence with a cough, _"So, did your friends give you a hard time as well?"_

" _I thought you'd never break the awkward silence, Harry,"_ Fleur giggled, while Harry pouted, _"Oh hush, I was just hoping you'd do it before it got even more awkward!"_

" _To be honest, I'm really nervous…"_ Harry admitted, scratching the back of his head while smiling nervously at the French girl. Fleur squeezed Harry's hand and smiled at him brilliantly, with a blush still dusting her cheeks.

" _Well, since you admitted it first, I have to say I was nervous as well,"_ Fleur gave him a nod, _"But let's enjoy the day, just like the last time."_

Harry, feeling a bit bolder at this point, smiled brightly at Fleur, _"Sounds good! So, why don't we play a game then? We take turns telling each other something we don't know about ourselves,"_ Harry finished, before quickly adding, _"I was told this was a good way to get to know each other."_

" _Okay, you know, Zoe had suggested the same thing this morning,"_ Fleur quipped, winking at Harry, who blushed furiously. Zoe, who had approached him yesterday about the knocking of the door, had also given him this idea as an icebreaker between him and Fleur. Even with their multitude of letters, Zoe was sure there were a lot of things Harry didn't know about Fleur. Case in point, she had asked if Harry knew Fleur's favourite colour, and he had no answer for her. It seems that Zoe had also told Fleur the same thing.

The ride to Hogsmeade was full of exchanges between Harry and Fleur. From the simplest of things such as their favourite colour, to the most intimate ones about their family and friends. They had a great time getting to know each other even more, and they had both commented on how right Zoe was, which they both promised not to tell her because of her inflated ego. Harry realized how much he had not known about Fleur, and Fleur realized just how complex Harry's life was, unlike all the books had said about him.

Before finally getting off at Hogsmeade, both teens had grown closer and more comfortable around each other. So much so that Harry didn't even hesitate in taking Fleur's hand openly after they had exited the carriage and started their trek into the magical village.

" _What's the plan today, Mister Potter,"_ Fleur smirked playfully at Harry, _"You asked me out to this date, so you had better be prepared!"_

Harry smiled back, a shudder ran through his spine as he realized how beautiful Fleur was under the light falling snow, _"Well, I had planned on going around the usual stores, just browsing around as we get to know more about each other, then lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Afterwards, I was going to ask you if you wanted to watch the scrimmage between Hogwarts and Durmstrang."_

" _Hmm...sure, we can watch the scrimmage,"_ Fleur replied thoughtfully, _"I was never good on a broom, but I always enjoyed a good Quidditch game!"_

" _I hope it will be a good game,"_ Harry replied, then smirked, _"Hogwarts has to have a pretty good team to beat Durmstrang."_

" _Such school pride, Mister Potter!"_ Fleur chided.

" _I take pride in my friends,"_ Harry replied back, smirking, _"especially since they have Viktor leading them."_

" _Isn't that a little bit unfair?"_

" _The Gryffindor-pride wouldn't be deterred, if what my godfather told me was true."_

Before they both knew it, a few hours had already passed as they conversed about anything and everything. Harry couldn't stop laughing at some of the escapades Fleur and her friends had gone through throughout their years at Beauxbatons. It seems Zoe had always been the mastermind, and more often than not, they had always ended up getting caught. Fleur herself couldn't quite get the hang of Viktor Krum the studious Durmstrang student. To most of everyone that only knew Viktor as a Quidditch star, it was hard to imagine the poster-boy of professional Quidditch to be very studious.

Very quickly, they found themselves sitting in the booth they had shared the first time they had visited the village together. Harry ordered a light lunch, while Fleur ordered the same thing, with both of them sharing bottles of butterbeer.

" _Did your godfather really do that?"_

" _Oh yes,"_ Harry laughed, _"he had pissed off Remus so much that Remus made sure to drug him, and then hang him off of a traffic light in the middle of Bern in his birthday suit!"_

" _What happened? Did the muggle law enforcement get involved?"_

" _Mhm! He was sent to jail for a few days for public indecency, and since he was so drunk, he couldn't even muster himself up to apparate away!"_

Fleur couldn't stop her chuckling, as they were brought their food, _"So what happened afterwards?"_

" _Let's just say Remus got this just desserts…"_

" _I don't like the sound of that at all."_

Harry shook himself with mirth, as he tried his best not to snort in his shepherd's pie in between his chuckles at the memory. It was one of his most cherished ones, and the first prank he had ever pulled.

" _So, it's your turn, tell me something about your family."_

" _Hmm, well my little sister has a really big crush on Harry Potter!"_

Harry almost choked on his food, before sputtering, _"Two questions, how old is your sister? And did she own the unsolicited Harry Potter novels such as the Philosopher's Stone?"_

Fleur nodded her head, which made Harry grumble even more, _"She's about eight, and owns all seven books!"_

" _No way! Even the shitty ones? The sixth and seventh books?!"_

" _Yup, sorry, Harry."_

" _Noooooo!"_

Lunch passed quickly, and afterwards the two headed up towards the direction of the Quidditch stadium. From what Harry could see, it seems most of the Hogwarts students had shown up and were cheering loudly. One stand seemed to have been claimed by Beauxbatons, while another had Durmstrang students.

" _Where should we…"_

Harry looked towards Fleur, and shrugged. They were technically still on a date, and if Harry were to be honest, he really did not want to give up Fleur's company. His hand clasped onto hers, he led them towards a group of Hogwarts students all clad in yellow.

"Cedric!"

Cedric Diggory looked up from his position and saw Harry Potter and Fleur Delacour waving at him. The champions had been friendly since the First Task. There was something about facing a dragon that brought people together.

"Harry, Fleur! Over here!" Cedric waved them over to the two seats beside himself. His friends had mostly occupied the other side, which left the ones on his right unoccupied.

Cedric saw their intertwined hands, and smirked, "So, you two, huh?"

"Well, it's our first date," Harry smiled back, holding Fleur's hand just a bit tighter as he saw some of the older Hufflepuff males ogling his date.

Fleur sidled up close to Harry and whispered softly, _"It's okay, I only have eyes for you."_

Harry blushed crimson, before smiling softly at Fleur, which was returned by the blonde. They both took their seats beside Cedric, who immediately shook both their hands in greeting.

"So, which team do you both think will win?"

"Durmstrang, of course," Harry smirked at Cedric, who only shook his head as he pointed towards the already gathering players from both teams. Viktor could be seen doing stunts on his broom, which was his way of 'stretching' before the match, which the fans loved.

"I have to agree with Harry, Durmstrang seems to be the stronger contender," Fleur nodded, her eyes trailing the two female players on the Durmstrang team, before realizing who they were, "Harry, all of your friends are playing?"

"Yup!" Harry nodded, pointing towards Aleksander who was already taking his place in the middle of the pitch, "Aleksander is a decent keeper, probably the best in the school at the moment. And the girls, oh man, they're wicked fast chasers!"

"Do you play, then, Harry?"

Harry smiled, "Well, I play the best alongside the girls. We make a good chaser line-up when we have pick-up games in Durmstrang."

"You weren't allowed to play too, huh?" Cedric grimaced, glaring holes at the silver-haired Slytherin who was eyeing the Durmstrang seeker.

Cedric was shoved to back, taking him out of his stupor, before a bubbly raven-haired girl chirped, "Cedric's just not happy he wasn't allowed to go up against Krum! Hi, I'm Cho, by the way!"

Fleur giggled at the girl's antics, already acquainted with her since Beauxbatons was forced to sit in the Ravenclaw tables. Harry smiled back, and shook her hand, "Harry Potter, and it seems I'm not the only one being babied around here."

"Men and their sport," Fleur shook her head, followed by Cho who nodded solemnly.

Just then, a loud voice echoed throughout the stands, which started the Quidditch match. Viktor was immediately on the prowl, and from Harry's position, he knew the Bulgarian wanted to end the match as soon as possible. On the other side of the pitch, Harry could see the Hogwarts seeker tailing Viktor, while dodging the bludgers sent at him by the Durmstrang beaters.

"Krum isn't holding back," Cedric commented, following the Bulgarian seeker's moves as he decimated another formation that the Hogwarts chasers were attempting.

"Viktor seldom holds back in Quidditch, he's not the best for nothing."

Sixty points later, and Hogwarts was still lagging behind with only one of the six goals being theirs. The chaser line up of the Hogwarts team consisted of a red-headed girl, and two lithe-formed boys. The three seemed perfectly well on their own, but lacked synergy when playing together. From their position, they could hear the red-headed girl, Cedric called her Ginny, berating her two chasers who scowled menacingly.

Fleur watched Ginny loop around Aleksander, before shooting the goal. The quaffle had almost entered the right-most ring, but bounced back out to everyone's dismay. From her position, she could see the girl scowling at her two teammates, both of which shrugged and continued the game as if nothing happened.

"That girl doesn't seem to be doing very well with her team," Fleur turned to Cedric, who only sighed.

"Ginny Weasley, she's very talented, but also very prejudiced. Those two chasers in their team are probably the best ones in the school right now, but coincidentally, they're both from Slytherin."

"Ah, house rivalry, wasn't it?" Harry remembered Sirius' discussion about the infamous Slytherin versus Gryffindor matches, and the mostly never ended without some nasty comment being thrown by either side.

Cedric nodded, before clapping, "Krum's chasing the snitch!"

With a quick dive, and a Wrongski Feint, Viktor emerged with the golden snitch in her right hand, to the dismay of the Hogwarts team, and the joy of the rest of the crowd in the stands. All around, everyone's voice came together and echoed the name: KRUM in celebration.

"That was...anticlimactic," Cedric sighed, as they all started leaving the stands, filing through the small corridors in small rows.

"I did tell you, didn't I?" Harry smirked.

"I still think Durmstrang cheated because of Krum."

"Sore losers, that's what you guys are."

"Shut up, Harry."

They all laughed, as they finally reached the exit that led to the path towards the castle. Cedric's eyes gleamed, and before they could break off, he cornered both his fellow champions. Harry was puzzled, while Fleur had the same expression.

Cedric made sure to tell his friends to go on ahead, while giving Cho a small peck on the cheek. He rounded on both his fellow champions and let out a sigh, "Be honest, both of you, did you know about the dragons before the First Task?"

Harry winced, while Fleur stood stoically, staring at everything besides Cedric. The Hufflepuff sighed loudly, his shoulders loosening, "To be honest, I knew too, but I didn't take the hint."

"Wait, what?"

Cedric looked at Harry and smiled, "Well, Professor Flitwick had hinted about the dragons, but I didn't think much about it. I suppose I was too caught up with being the champion, and let it go to my head."

Fleur glanced at Harry, before replying, "It is a custom, to my knowledge, for the schools to cheat in the first task."

"That's what I heard too," Harry nodded.

"Well, I guess that's that!" Cedric turned away and headed towards the castle. Before he could go too far, he glanced back at his two fellow champions and smirked, "Do me a favour and take a bath with your eggs in tow. You can even do it together!"

Harry blushed heavy red, while Fleur was almost in the same shade. They could hear Cedric laughing as he finally caught up with his friends. Harry watched him leave, and could only smile at the Hufflepuff.

" _Why would he help us?"_ Fleur asked quietly, switching back to French.

Harry shook his head, _"He's a good guy. He knows now that the competition is life and death, and since he considers us his friends, he feels obligated to make sure we're not caught unprepared."_

" _But he knows we cheated! If it were me…"_ Fleur couldn't finish the thought. If it were her, truthfully, she would not have cared at all, and have left her competitors in the dust, or dead. Winning was the central part of this competition, and she was willing to do anything. However, being friends with Cedric, and becoming closer to Harry, these past few weeks have changed her outlook in life. This competition was less about winning now, but more about surviving. She had even gone through the lengths to warn Harry about the dragons, which her old self would not have done at all, making sure she had a leg-up in the competition.

Harry smiled as he steered Fleur away from the stands, and taking her back to the carriage, _"Cedric, he's something else. But he's right, we need to focus on surviving, and less about winning. This tournament is more dangerous than I've imagined, and we need to make sure we come out alive."_

Fleur stared into Harry's gaze, and could not help but feel that when he mentioned _we_ , he did not account for Cedric. The intensity of his conviction made her blush once more, and steeling herself. This tournament was turning out to be more dangerous than she initially imagined, and she better got a hold of herself before anything bad happens.

As they neared the Beauxbatons carriage, Fleur couldn't help but feel a little bit sad at the thought of their date ending. She could feel Harry's grip on her tighten just a little, before she gave his hand a squeeze, and glanced up at him with a small smile.

" _I guess this is it,"_ Harry sighed, fumbling around, unsure of what to do.

Fleur smiled shyly, _"Yeah…"_

" _Uhm, Fleur, I was wondering if we could do this again?"_

" _Yes! I mean...yes, of course,"_ Fleur's eagerness surprised even herself, and got a hold of herself before she could embarrass herself further.

" _Great! Uhm, how about next week?"_ Harry scratched the back of his head, before continuing quite rapidly, _"Or if that's too soon-"_

" _Next week sounds good, Harry,"_ Fleur replied, before gathering up her nerves and tip-toeing, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips.

Harry was stunned for a moment, and before he knew it, the kiss had ended. Fleur smiled softly at him, her fingers on her lips, before turning around and heading into the carriage. She felt herself slump on the door, her heart determined to break free from her chest. Before she could move an inch, however, she heard Harry scream with delight from outside the carriage. She couldn't help but sport a silly grin as she slowly made her way back to her room. The day had gone perfectly, and she was already looking forward to their next date.

Turning towards her room, she could see light illuminating from the door crack, and realized her friends must be waiting to interrogate her. She gave a huge sigh, before whispering to herself, _"Time to face the wolves."_


	12. Chapter 12

**The Serpent of Durmstrang**

A/N: This is a rewrite of the Dragon of Durmstrang, where mistakes were made and are going to be corrected, while the story and writing will be improved. This is also my NaNoWriMo prep story, so all reviews are appreciated. Also, all my works are down at the moment. They will all be rewritten one at a time, so do not fret!

 **Chapter Twelve**

Viktor had almost fainted, wondering if everything that has happened so far had been a dream. With the exams happening throughout the past week, he had been very busy with studying from dawn until dusk. Everyone else had been in the same position, except for Harry. While Harry position was enviable, Viktor would rather take a week of exams than put his life in the line for a tournament.

As he watched Hermione slowly descend from the Hogwarts staircase, her hair done in a very intricate design, while wearing a beautiful gown that was periwinkle blue. Her smile lit up Viktor's world, and he could not take his eyes off of hers.

Hermione smiled widely as Viktor finally took her hand. She had been his constant companion in the Hogwarts library, and had surprised her with how much his work ethic seemed to permeate into his school work. It rivaled hers, and she had been quite intimidated. As time passed by, however, both found common ground especially when it came to subjects both of them found challenging. In the end, Viktor had asked her to the Yule Ball, and she quickly said yes.

Viktor led her towards his friends, and could see that Aleksander had Kassandra's hand in his, while Alanna was being escorted by a Ravenclaw named Roger Davis.

"Hermione!" Alanna smiled after recognizing the bookworm, "you look beautiful!"

Hermione smiled shyly, "You look beautiful as well, and you too, Kassandra."

Kassandra smiled at Viktor's date, "I wasn't sure how purple would look on me, but it seems to have worked out well."

"You always look beautiful, Kass," Aleksandra grinned, before being smacked lightly by a blushing Kassandra.

Roger seemed to have been stunned silent, slightly intimidated by the Durmstrang students, especially Viktor Krum. He had initially wanted to ask Fleur Delacour to the Yule Ball, but after spying the French witch hand-in-hand with Potter, he had resorted to asking Alanna. The French witch from Durmstrang had been amiable, and now here he was.

Hermione glanced at Roger and have him a nod, "Roger Davis right?"

"Ravenclaw, we share some classes but you tend to keep to yourself," Roger nodded, remembering the bushy-haired girl always in the front of the class. She was not much of a looker then, but it seems he was wrong to judge seeing her now.

"So, how did this happen?" Hermione turned towards Aleksander and Kassandra, who were both blushing heavily, "last time I saw you both, Kassandra was not having Aleks' antics."

"Well, you see…" Aleksander started, but was cut off by a laughing Viktor.

"Aleksander here promised to stop bugging her for a month, if she went to the ball with him,"

Kassandra snorted, "Yeah right, he already broke that promise this morning."

"I don't see you reneging on your date though," Alanna pointed out, to the embarrassment of Kassandra, who was still holding Aleksander's hand tightly.

A commotion started near the Hogwarts double doors, and everyone seemed to be glancing towards that direction. The group of Durmstrang students, with two Hogwarts ones, weren't the exception, and also strained to see what was going on.

"It that Harry?" Hermione exclaimed, getting a view of the raven-haired Durmstrang champion, who seemed to be in the middle of the commotion, "wait, that's Fleur with him!"

"Ah," Aleksander sighed, "I guess we now know why there'd be a commotion there."

"What do you mean?"

Kassandra took over, elbowing Aleksander who was trying to see if he could get a glimpse of Fleur, "Fleur is a quarter Veela, and with this setting, you can figure out what happened."

Hermione digged into her vast pool of knowledge. Veelas were creatures of fire, of love and passion, and of beauty. Realizing what might have happened, she gave a sigh of pity at the woman.

Seeing her action, Kassandra smiled at the girl, "It's fine. Harry's with her, and he's more than enough against every other boy in this school."

Hermione nodded, remembering the power that Harry Potter showcased during the First Task. Transfiguration was one thing, but mass transfiguration, as well was having subdued a dragon with it, was no easy feat. From what she had heard from Professor McGonagall, Harry Potter was well on his way in becoming a Transfiguration Master, which made Hermione arguably jealous.

"You too, huh?" Aleksander smirked at Hermione, "Harry is special, and even though he plays himself down every time, he is a very talented wizard."

"He might seem like a monster, but inside, he's a teddy bear," Kassandra continued.

"And Fleur seems to have found out, and have been hogging him from us the past few week," finished Alanna, who had a small pout.

Roger could only gulp and shake his head. He had seen Harry in action, and being honest to himself, he was not in any way going to mess with the man. Harry showed mastery in magic that rivaled the Professors, and even if he was in Ravenclaw, he was sure he could not match Potter's strength, speed, and knowledge-base.

A moment of silence reign on the group, each of them thinking about Harry in their own way. Harry was an important piece of the group, and they all missed him dearly. However, the tournament had also been keeping Harry from his friends, and his free time were wrapped around Fleur, whom had also engrossed herself with preparing for the Second Task. They missed their friend, but more importantly, they wanted him to survive the tournament. If that meant Harry had to sacrifice his time with his friends for seven years, his friends were ready to accept it.

"We should head in," Roger coughed, awkwardly shuffling as he saw most of the people already heading into the Great Hall.

Everyone nodded, and the mood picked up once more as they all walked into the hall.

Harry watched his friends all gathering, and couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt run through him. He had not been the best of friends lately, being engrossed with trying to find a way to breath underwater for a period of time. While the song of the mermaid said an hour, he wanted to plan for anything and everything that could happen.

As the chatter started to pick up around him, he realized that those closest to the door had stopped and were muttering to themselves. Harry glanced over, and found himself agape as Fleur walked into the foyer wearing a dazzling silver dressed that hugged her every curve. Her hair was up with an intricate design, which was topped off by a silver flower tucked neatly into her curls. She had light make-up, which only accentuated her natural beauty.

Everyone had to stop and stare, as the French champion found Harry's eyes, and slowly sauntered towards him. Harry smiled softly at his date, and too her hand, giving it a kiss as he hugged her close to his body.

" _You look beautiful."_

Fleur smiled, _"You don't look half-bad yourself,"_ giving him a once over, noticing how his silver-trimmer robes matched hers very well, and his hair just a little bit tamer than usual.

Giving Harry a kiss, which was reciprocated, they finally were ushered into a side room by Professor McGonagall. The stern transfiguration professor smiled kindly at the couple, before heading off to find Cedric and his date

" _I'm surprised Zoe wasn't with you to give me the protective friend speech,"_ Harry smirked, having already had the talk from Fleur's friend just before their second date.

Fleur shook her head, _"It was hard, but I did manage to convince her to leave us alone. She headed off after seeing me to the castle."_

" _Well, at least we have alone time now."_

" _Oh do we?"_ Fleur quickly enveloped herself into Harry embrace as they shared a heated kiss. Their second date had gone really well, their third even better, and their fourth was amazing. They both quickly found out that they enjoyed each other's kisses, and made every opportunity to enjoy their new found relationship.

"Ahem."

Fleur quickly separated herself from Harry, who was sporting a lopsided grin. They both found themselves being stared at by Professor McGonagall, as well as Cho, while Cedric couldn't help himself but laugh out loud.

"You should focus on your love life more than ours, Cedric," Harry quipped, noticing that Cho was awkwardly standing by herself while Cedric seemed to have placed both of his hands in his pocket.

Cedric blushed crimson, and immediately took his date's hands into his, to the embarrassment of Cho who smiled softly at the Hufflepuff.

The professor took a quick glance outside the room they were in, before gathering the champions and lining them up just outside the Great Hall. The foyer was now devoid of students, all of them have been ushered into the hall minutes prior.

"Mister Diggory and Miss Chang first, followed by Mister Potter and Miss Delacour," the professor said in a no nonsense tone, "you will take your seats in the Head's table. After the dinner, the first dance will be yours."

Each of the champion, and Cho, nodded with the professor's explanation. They had been briefed about their roles in the ball by their respective head of school, and were well prepared. In fact, Harry had to have some dance lessons with Fleur, making sure he wouldn't make a fool of himself, and her with him.

Just then, the doors opened to reveal the Great Hall filled with students who were parted in the middle to create a walkway for the champions and their dates. Harry steeled himself, as he took Fleur's arm in his own, and followed Cedric to the pavilion.

Fleur tried to ease Harry into the spotlight, herself already adept at being in the center of attention. She held onto Harry tightly, giving him a smile when he glanced at her. His face eased a few knots, but she could tell by his gait that he was ready to be out of the limelight.

Seating themselves down onto the Head's table, Harry quickly took the spot beside Headmaster Dumbledore, which made sure that Fleur was between himself and her Headmistress. Igor Karkaroff saw this and glared at Harry for his apparent disrespect, but said nothing to cause a scene. Fleur smiled at her Headmistress, and glanced around the table, not seeing Ludo Bagman nor Mister Crouch, but another red-head that had a bowler hat placed beside his utensils glancing around and making small talk with Dumbledore, who only smiled and nodded.

Before long, the rest of the students had taken their seats, which prompted Dumbledore to stare into his plate and say loudly, "Lamb Chops!"

Food appeared on his plate, and with a satisfied nod, he began to dig in. This prompted everyone in the hall to take a glance at the menu provided in each table, and subsequently request their choice.

For Harry, everything from their descent into the hall, up until after dinner was a blur. His mind going a thousand miles a minute as he dreaded the Champions' opening dance. He had been practicing, however his nerves still wreaked havoc as he envisioned his failure and subsequent embarrassment of himself and Fleur.

" _You'll do great, Harry,"_ Fleur gave his hand a squeeze, sensing her partner's nerves, which was blatant especially since Harry's leg was shaking and kept brushing her own.

Harry smiled back nervously, and before he could say anything, the Hogwarts Headmaster clapped his hands which made all the plates disappear. The champions took this as their cue, and stood up, slowly descending into the dance floor, and pairing off.

Taking Fleur's hand in his own, and placing his free one on her waist, they positioned themselves and waiting for the music to start. Harry gulped, his hands a little sweaty, yet Fleur's dazzling smile kept most of his worries away.

The music started less than a few seconds later, and Harry quickly went through the steps drilled into him the past week. He kept his gaze at Fleur, who only smiled even wider as he perfected every step, sway, and twirl.

" _I'm so lucky to have you, Fleur,"_ Harry blurted out his thoughts, still making sure he kept his grace as they neared the end of the song.

Fleur blushed lightly, _"I'm the lucky one, Harry."_

The song ended, and surely enough, the Professors and students all partnered up and started to join the champions into the second song. Harry and Fleur kept their spots in the middle of the dancefloor, opting to sway while in an intimate embrace instead, especially since the song was of a slower tempo.

Swaying to the music, Harry couldn't help but press Fleur closer to himself, a shiver running through his spine as he realized how important Fleur was to him, especially since they finally made their relationship official. While they both are still slowly discovering each other, he couldn't help but slowly fall for the French witch. Her smile, her laugh, her kisses, they were all addicting, and Harry couldn't help but want more. The honeymoon phase, they called it, and Harry secretly wished they would never leave it.

The second song died slowly, and Fleur slowly pulled herself away from Harry. She could see his frown forming, and quickly gave him a peck, _"I think someone wants a dance from you."_

Harry looked over his shoulder and saw Zoe, smirking at the two. Behind her were Kassandra and Aleksander, who had knowing grins plastered on their face.

" _Care for a dance, Mister Potter?"_

Harry shook his head, and took Zoe's hand. Aleksander and Kassandra pulled Fleur away from their friend, "We'll take care of Miss Delacour for you, Harry. Have fun!"

Zoe steered Harry away and made sure to not mingle into the crowd. She wanted Harry's full attention, and not him looking for Fleur and making googly eyes at her.

" _So, you and Fleur are finally getting more serious."_

It was a knowing tone, and Harry knew that the French witch dancing with him was not one to be messed with. He had gotten the protective friend speech once, but this seemed a little bit different. Harry nodded slowly, not sure where things were going.

Zoe sighed, _"You know, I was unsure of you when we first met. You seemed like a pansy, and even though you did well during the First Task, I still thought that Fleur could do better."_

" _You've already given me the death threat about keeping Fleur happy, remember?"_ Harry grinned, and was rewarded with a slap on his arm.

" _This is different! Fleur, she...she's my best friend, and with the way things are going…"_

" _I understand. I promise you, Zoe, that I will put Fleur's happiness at the forefront every single time. She's one of a kind, and I know how lucky I am to have her."_

Zoe nodded, staring into Harry's eyes only confirmed how much the man cherished her best friend, she couldn't help but feel a little envious. Every woman wanted someone who was as dedicated to them as Harry was to Fleur, and Zoe was no third song ended quickly, and Harry smiled at Zoe, who was reluctant to let him go.

" _My friends are giving Fleur the talk, aren't they?"_ Harry sighed, taking Zoe's reluctance in stride.

Zoe nodded, _"It was their idea! Apparently you've been keeping her away from them."_

" _Ah, I knew this would happen sooner or later,"_ Harry nodded, taking Zoe's hand as another song started up, _"Might as well enjoy the dance, then?"_

They both enjoyed a short dance, and soon were heading out of the dancefloor searching for Kassandra and Aleksander. Harry was the taller one, therefore had a better view, and soon found the group near the refreshment stand. Zoe dragged Harry back to Fleur, determined not to take any more of the couple's time.

" _Here, take him back, I don't like him,"_ Zoe commented offhandedly as they arrived in front of the group.

Fleur laughed, as Harry tried to look as hurt as possible, _"It's okay, I like him,"_ Fleur took his hand and led him outside.

" _Already had enough of the dance?"_

" _I just wanted some fresh air, it was getting stuffy in there,"_ Fleur replied, slowing down and holding Harry's arm as they slowly made their way out of the Great Hall. Snow had started falling once again, and a quick warming charm made sure they were both comfortable as they took their stroll into the Hogwarts grounds.

The Hogwarts staff seemed to be prepared, since the grounds was littered with benches and bushes that turned the formar flat expanse into a pseudo-garden. The place was filled with floating specks of firefly-like light, creating a fantastical atmosphere, and accentuated the Yule Ball rather well.

Harry led them towards a bench just under a looming tree. From a glance, Harry made sure that there were no stray snow that would dampen their outfits, before they both settled down. Fleur instinctually cuddled up to Harry, who smiled softly and wrapped his arms around her.

" _I wish this night would never end,"_ Harry sighed, his gaze wandering around the garden, looking at all the couples that had snuck out of the hall and were trying to find a private place for themselves.

" _Mmm…"_

Harry smiled at Fleur, who had closed her eyes and was getting rather comfortable in his arms.

" _What's your plan for the rest of the holidays?"_

" _Nothing really, those who stayed for the ball aren't allowed to go home,"_ Fleur mumbled, her eyes still closed.

" _Want to go celebrate New Years at the Three Broomsticks with my friends? Zoe and Amelie are invited too."_

" _Okay, I'd rather think they wouldn't let me go alone anyways. They're too protective, especially Zoe."_

" _They're just being good friends. Speaking of friends, you've finally spoken with mine, hey?"_

" _Yup!"_

" _Are you going to tell me what they said?"_ Harry shifted in his seat, looking at Fleur pointedly.

Fleur sighed at the loss of his warmth, and stared back at Harry with a grin, _"They told me to make sure you shower everyday, and that sometimes you don't brush your teeth so to get on your case on that too."_

" _Wha!?"_

" _I'm kidding! They gave their normal don't break his heart or else speech."_

" _Oh, okay then,"_ Harry sighed, settling back and letting Fleur curl up beside him once more.

" _Yeah, and that you sometimes fart really loudly."_

Fleur stood up rapidly, and quickly ran away from Harry giggling, while Harry gave chase with a cheeky grin on his face.

" _Come back here!"_ Harry yelled playfully, purposefully slowing his speed so that Fleur had a fighting chance.

Fleur stuck a tongue out at him, before speeding up. All too soon, Harry caught up and held her by the waist. She twisted herself to face him, and planted a kiss on his lips, stunning him for a moment.

" _You are so easy to tease, Harry."_

Harry pouted, but was once again kissed by Fleur, _"Oh don't pout at me, Harry. You look better when you smile, you know."_

" _Well, I do have a reason for smiling, hey?"_

" _Why's that?"_

" _I have you in my arms."_

That earned Harry another kiss, which lasted until a cough was heard from behind them. Harry quickly turned around, still holding onto Fleur, who had taken a step backward to hide her blush behind Harry.

"Mister Potter, Miss Delacour, I suppose both of you can use discretion?" Professor Gregorovitch smirked at the two, "Head back into the hall, I'm sure you both don't want to miss the Weird Sisters."

"Yes, professor," both Harry and Fleur echoed, before making strides back into the Great Hall. Both reluctant to let go of their intertwined hands, their hearts still beating rapidly at being apprehended by a professor.

Harry glanced at Fleur, and their eyes met. He couldn't help but smile widely at her, and Fleur reciprocated. They shared a short kiss, before heading back into the noise-filled hall, ready to enjoy the rest of the night with their friends in tow.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Serpent of Durmstrang**

A/N: This will most likely be my last chapter until after NaNoWriMo. I will be starting to write my NaNoWriMo novel in a few days! If you guys are interested in it, feel free to check me out on Wattpad under the same username (nigelforest) I have on here! Finally, thank you to those who have supported this rewrite, and those who have given me tips and constructive criticism about my writing. I will be using those when I finally start writing my novel!

 **Chapter Thirteen**

Harry felt Fleur's skin rub against his own. His hand slowly caressed her thigh, the feeling was intoxication, and her ministrations were doing no favours to his own carnal desires. He could feel her breath, whispering sweet nothings in his ear, making him shiver in anticipation. Fleur traced kisses on his shoulder, trailing until she finally reached lips. She tasted of peppermint, and cocoa, a weird combination, but nectar to Harry's taste buds. Harry slid his hand higher up her thigh, and he could hear her moan his name in his ear.

"MISTER POTTER!"

Harry immediately got up and was at attention immediately. His bleary eyes catching sight of Professor Gregorovitch and Highmaster Karkaroff, although the Highmaster seemed to be hovering over by the door of his room.

Professor Gregorovitch had a light blush at what he heard his student whispering in his sleep, before shaking himself and grabbing Harry by the shoulder, "There's been an emergency, Mister Potter, and you'll more than likely want to be informed."

"What happened?" Harry whispered in puzzlement, his throat still dry from his sleep, and his eyes barely being kept open.

"You best be dressed, and meet us in the study area."

Harry nodded, and watched both professor and Highmaster leave his room. He shook his head, clearing any cobwebs lingering, before finally getting up. With a quick cleaning spell, and grabbing a set of his Durmstrang robes, he made his way out of his room and into the study area.

With each step, his thoughts ran through the possible reasons as to why he was being called up in the ungodly hours of the morning. Professor Gregorovitch had said something about an emergency, and he immediately thought of one of his friends. It's a possibility, and a cold shiver ran down his spine as to what trouble one of his friends might have gotten themselves into.

As he reached the oval shaped room, he quickly took in the sight of Headmaster Dumbledore standing in between Professor Gregorovitch and his Highmaster. Dumbledore seemed to be deep in thoughts, whispering rather rapidly with his professor, while his Highmaster was sneering at the two.

"Professors," Harry started, awkwardly standing just by the doorway that led to the male's rooms.

Dumbledore looked up, and frowned. His face becoming a shade darker, as he slowly went up to Harry and stood in front of the Potter heir. He looked exactly like James, if not more filled-out, but his eyes were Lily's through and through. Albus placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, and let a lone tear slide down his cheek.

"Harry, I'm sorry," Dumbledore was finally able to choke out, his hand squeezing Harry's shoulder lightly.

Harry was stunned for a moment, not sure what he was supposed to do. The Headmaster's action puzzled him, until it dawned to him that the only person he knew that was in contact with the Headmaster was-

"Sirius! What happened?!"

Professor Gregorovitch stepped up beside the Headmaster, before nodding at his old master, "Mister Black is currently in Saint Mungo's. We're here to take you to him."

"But what happened to him? Is he going to be-"

"Not here, Mister Potter," Professor Gregorovitch shut him down immediately, glancing at the Highmaster for a brief second.

The Highmaster caught the blatant glance, and growled, "I know you don't trust me, Gregorovitch! Just take him and go! You don't need to spit in my face right in front of our student, in the middle of my ship!"

Petyr seemed to want to say something in return, but held himself as Dumbledore patted the man on the shoulder. Dumbledore looked towards Igor and sighed, "Igor, this is not the time or place."

"You too, old man! Meddling again and again, even with my own student!"

"Igor!"

Igor Karkaroff roared in anger, before stomping away with a sweep of his cloak. Professor Gregorovitch sighed as he watched the man walk away, unsure of what to say to the man after their last confrontation about his Dark Mark. Contrary to Igor's belief, Petyr wanted to believe the man had changed his ways, yet from their conversations, he could not help but doubt that man. He was a turncoat, a man who sold his comrades for his own safety, and there's something about that which made Petyr doubt the man more than he should.

"There's not time to waste, Petyr," Dumbledore chided his old apprentice, before leading Harry out into the still dark sky. Petyr sighed before following Albus, his mind still troubled by Igor's outburst.

Harry didn't register anything that happened, his mind still caught up with the fact that Sirius is hurt. Thoughts ran through his head, fear clutched his already fast-beating heart, and the chill of dread creeped up his spine. Sirius Black, one of the most capable men he knew, and his father in all but name, had been hurt, and here he was staying comfortable without any worries in the world.

"Wha-What happened to him, Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked, his throat betraying his resolve.

The Headmaster looked even more aged as he sighed wearily, "I promise to tell you everything, Harry. First, we must visit Sirius to ease your mind, then we shall discuss matters at hand."

Harry couldn't do anything but nod. A younger Harry might have demanded answers here and now, yet Harry had been able to temper himself against brash actions. There was an urge, but he squashed it immediately. The most important thing right now was seeing Sirius, and making sure he was alright.

As they passed the Hogwarts gates, the groundskeeper who towered all of them only nodded, before closing the steel gateway behind them as they crossed. Professor Gregorovitch gave his arm to Harry, who immediately took as as they were whisked away in a soft crack.

Harry shook off the mild dizziness he got after landing unsuccessfully from the apparition. His mind was so focused on Sirius' condition that he paid no mind to anything else, which he paid for with his almost fall after Professor Gregorovitch apparated them outside of Saint Mungo's.

"Come," the grim professor motioned for Harry to follow himself and Professor Dumbledore, who were already halfway up the steps to a seemingly abandoned building. As he crossed the threshold of the first step, a cold wave passed over his body, and right before his eyes, the abandoned building was suddenly lit up with lights on almost every window.

They walked through the entrance, and was welcomed by noise easily found in any other hospital. Healers ran left and right, while patients were meandering about, with some sitting by an area waiting for their number to be called.

Albus Dumbledore led the way towards the reception, which was probably the best idea since everyone stopped to assist the Headmaster, eager to please. Dumbledore put his influence into good use, and quickly found Sirius' room without any hassle or wait. In fact, everyone in line for the reception were quite amiable and even happily let the old wizard cut through to the front.

"Fourth floor," Dumbledore nodded at Petyr, and with harry in tow, they quickly made their way to Sirius' room.

Harry's heart threatened to burst, as they neared the room Sirius was cooped in. Apparently, he had been transferred to a private room, after they realized that it was lord Black they were dealing with.

As they opened the door, Harry saw Sirius sitting up on his bed, talking furiously with Remus, who had bandage running through half his face. His heart settled for a moment, before running to both his father-figures and enveloping them in a hug.

"Oof!" Sirius cried, Harry's charge hitting just below his left lung, where most of his injuries were still fresh.

Remus laughed loudly, patting the raven-haired teen on the back, "Might want to let go of Sirius, Harry. His injuries are still quite fresh."

"Sorry," Harry grinned at Sirius, who only grinned back and ruffled his godson's hair in the process.

"You had me worried, you know. What the hell happened anyway?" Harry quickly grilled into them, his worry now set aside for curiosity and frustration at the man who had been very secretive for the past few months. Ever since Harry had gone back to Durmstrang this year, Sirius and Remus had been sending him less and less letters, only hinting at the fact that they were doing very important things.

Sirius gave Harry a look, before glancing at Dumbledore, who only nodded. He sighed, making himself comfortable in the not-so-comfortable hospital bed, before gesturing for Remus to start. He was still very tired after the ordeal he had gone through, especially since he might not have made it if Remus had not made it in time to save him.

Remus nodded, "Where to begin...I suppose we should tell you that Sirius and I have been travelling endlessly the past few weeks, which is one of the reasons why we couldn't keep in contact with you as much as we had previous years."

"Remus, I believe I should explain this part," Dumbledore spoke up, already conjuring three single-seater couches for the rest of the occupants to settle on. As Harry and Petyr moved to take their spots, Dumbledore flicked his wand three times, and the room glowed a purple-hue, to the satisfied smile of the old professor.

"Wards, Harry, especially since what will be said here should be kept within this circle," Dumbledore smiled at the inquisitive look of the young Potter, before settling himself down on his own armchair.

"Harry, as I've said, what is going to be discussed in this room should remain in this room."

"Yes, professor," Harry nodded.

"Good, now against my better judgement, Sirius, Remus, and Petyr have all finally forced my hand in revealing this to you. I had hoped to grant you a final year without this burden, yet our hands are being forced."

Sirius coughed, "Old man, tell him everything. He needs to know."

Albus nodded, "To understand, we must first recount the fall of Voldemort at your hands, Harry. Why he chose to visit your family that night, and the reason for his obsession for your family."

Harry couldn't help but flinch at the memory of a green light, his mother's screams, and his father's valiant effort to subdue the Dark Lord. It was a memory he could not erase after a brief encounter with a Dementor during his sixth year Dark Arts class at Durmstrang.

"His obsession was spurned by a prophecy, Harry. And Lord Voldemort clung onto this prophecy, which spelled his doom in the hands of a child, which led to his paranoia."

"A prophecy? Wha-"

Harry was cut-off by Dumbledore, who raised his hand, "The contents of the prophecy shall be discussed later, for now, keep in mind that Lord Voldemort vanished after confronting your family, and finally you. Vanished, Harry, not dead."

"Not dead? Did his killing curse not bounced back at him?"

"It is theorized that it did, but we may never know because there was no witness that except, except for you, Harry. What we do know is that Lord Voldemort vanished, and left no trace, not even his wand. The Dark Mark had faded since, and his supporters mostly rounded up and incarcerated."

Dumbledore shifted in his seat, at this point contemplating on how he would break it to the young man that his own Highmaster was a convicted Death Eater., "Recently, we've had some reports that the mark is becoming more visible and active. This is concurrent with the incident at the World Cup, if you remember the Dark Mark being cast on the night sky that night."

"I do, so those mask men were actually Death Eaters then? Not hooligans, or even rowdy party-goers too drunk?"

"Yes, well the British Ministry has been trying to downplay the incident, but the Department of Magical Law Enforcement with Amelia Bones in charge has classified the event as a Death Eater attack. There are some promising individuals in the Ministry, but they are drowned out by the vocal few. Suffice to say, Harry, that there is sufficient evidence that the Dark Lord might not be dead as we might think."

Harry stewed on this information, his hands trembling at the thought of a madman, the one who caused so much pain to families in Britain and beyond, still lurking in the shadows. He had previously entertained the thought that the Death Eaters might just be looking to cause some havoc once again, but throwing the Dark Lord into the mix did not bode well for the Wizarding World.

"You still have not explained why Sirius or Remus were injured. What have they been doing? What warrants the vast amount of travelling?"

"Have you ever thought, Harry, as to how Lord Voldemort was able to stay alive?" Dumbledore leaned back into his chair, composing himself as they were finally getting into the topic that he had been the most leery about.

Harry stopped for a second, before shaking his head, "There is no such thing as true immortality, is there? The Flamels are close, yet I don't think Lord Voldemort would have access to the Philosopher's Stone."

"Thankfully, he doesn't. The Flamels keep their location unknown but to themselves, therefore the Stone is out of their reach. However, there are ways, vile and corrupt, in achieving a pseudo-immortality. Tell me Harry, have you ever heard of a Horcrux," Dumbledore stared hard at Harry. He had been uncomfortable about sharing this piece of information, yet he knew he had to, it was Harry's future at stake after all.

Harry shook his head, the subject sounded foreign to him. Pseudo-immortality was still a very dangerous path, and Harry knew from his limited knowledge about the Dark Arts that everything came at a price.

Albus glanced at each of the adults in the room, with Sirius giving him a hard glare. He could only smile at the Lord Black's conviction about Harry knowing. While Sirius Black might be the very protective of Harry, the man was also the most vocal about Harry being treated as an adult, and letting him onto this knowledge. He had been swayed, yet he was still unsure if Harry was ready for this burden.

"It's a relief to me that you don't know, nor should you ever know about this vile piece of Dark Magic. A creation of Herpo the Foul, a Horcrux is a soul container, a vile object that is used by the darkest of wizards in attaining immortality."

"Wait, so you're saying that Lord Voldemort had actually made a Horcrux?"

Dumbledore nodded somberly, "With the help of Sirius and Remus, we were able to track and finally gotten a hold of a memory," he paused, sighing, "seven, Harry. Lord Voldemort had been planning on splitting his soul into seven pieces."

Albus Dumbledore looked older than he had ever been after relieving the information onto Harry. The weight of Tom Riddle's action had burdened Dumbledore, especially since he had watched the young man grow, and was not able to stop him from becoming evil incarnate. It was his failing, amongst others that he could never atone for.

"So, that's what you guys have been looking for?" Harry turned to Sirius and Remus, who nodded.

"On my orders, Harry," Dumbledore cut off any contests by the raven-haired wizard, "Sirius and Remus are the most adept, not including your Professor Gregorovitch, and they agreed on helping me find and gather possible Horcruxes. One of which was dispatched by myself years ago, a diary in the hands of Ginevra Weasley. Another one has been secured a few weeks ago just after the First Task by myself, Sirius and Remus. This leaves us five more."

"Five more," Harry echoed, the thought of an immortal Lord voldemort sending chills up his spine.

"Four, professor," Remus smirked, before handing Albus a lead box with a lock mechanism that reminded Harry of goblin made items.

Albus Dumbledore reverently took the box, inspecting the fine craftsmanship, "You were successful, then?"

Sirius nodded, "The goblins were amiable, especially since Bellatrix is an incarcerated criminal. Since I am her Lord Black still, I was able to take hold of her personal vault, confiscating all of her monetary and worldly possessions. We were unprepared for the...curses that were tied to the cup."

Albus Dumbledore smiled at Sirius, relief overtook his emotions, before handing the lead-lined box for Petyr to inspect, "I'm grateful, Sirius, Remus, for your dedication to this old man's cause. But before any celebrations are due, there is another topic we must discuss, and an item we must procure."

Turning to Harry, Dumbledore continued, "You must learn about the prophecy, Harry. As we take another step closer to combatting Lord Voldemort's immortality, the forces that will try to stop us will be much more vicious."

"Will you tell me then?"

Dumbledore smiled, "Better yet, we will procure it within the Department of Mysteries. It is a two-fold reason as to why we must do this. First, you must learn of the prophecy, and secondly, by procuring the only tangible copy of the prophecy, we take it out of Lord Voldemort's hands."

Harry nodded, understanding the fact that by taking away the knowledge of the prophecy from the Dark Lord, they would have an upper hand against him. However, a thought has been bothering Harry since they first brought up Lord Voldemort's more than plausible existence, "Professor Dumbledore, what about the tournament? Couldn't he-"

"We have taken precautions, Harry, which is why we have Mad-Eye Moody teaching at Hogwarts this year. There is also your Professor Gregorovitch, who has been my eyes and ears within Durmstrang, as well as added security for the tournament. I am quite surprised, however, at the ease you're taking this all in"

Harry shrugged, "After the Quidditch World Cup incident, especially seeing the Death Eaters and the Dark Mark, the looming danger has been running through the back of my mind. It was reinforced after having the talk with Sirius, the disappearance of Aleksander's father, and finally the constant news of Dark creatures becoming more active lately," Harry ran a hand through his hair, "To be honest, I didn't think it would be the Dark Lord rising again, and was chalking it to Death Eaters mobilizing once again. But now...it's become more than what I initially imagined…"

Silence reigned the room, before Petyr finally spoke up, "That's why we're here, Harry. This is not your fight, but all of ours. And we will make sure you're prepared." Unsaid was the fact that Harry is going to be on the highest hit list for Lord Voldemort and his supporters, which made his training more important now that he was finally privy to all this information.

Harry glanced at Professor Gregorovitch, who only smiled back. At that moment, Dumbledore clapped his hands, and stood up, which prompted Petyr to also stand up.

"Now, shall we go retrieve the prophecy, Harry?"

Harry nodded with determination. The thought of Lord Voldemort still frightened him, yet he knew that he will do his utmost best to be prepared. Looking around, he knew that whatever he faced, he won't be alone. Sirius, Remus, and both professors were determined to stop the madman, and Harry was determined to fight alongside them.


End file.
